This Night
by LANIKI
Summary: House enters into a bargain with a rich and beautiful woman and finds himself drawn into her world. He ends up with much more than he bargained for. A House & OFC story - no other ships! Rated M for sexual scenes. Now completed.
1. This Night Prologue

**Welcome to my new House & OC story! This is a little different from some of my other stories. Also, the soundtrack for this story is Billy Joel. The title comes from one of Billy's songs and each chapter's title will be a line from one of his songs. See if you can guess the song if you want - I'll reveal it in the following chapter. Or if you're not into Billy, jsut read and enjoy the story.**

**Also, remember that authors really love to know that you're reading so don't be afraid to hit that little button and say, "Hi, I'm reading!" Thanks in advance.**

PROLOGUE

_**This night we are together…**_

Another boring dinner. God, how he hated these things! Nothing interesting ever happened. He'd tried his damnedest to get out of it, but Cuddy had been adamant.

"The Marsden Foundation has added our hospital to their list of beneficiaries. And the new chairman of the Foundation has just joined our board. Attendance is required of all department heads."

He argued, he pleaded, he bargained and he threatened. It was useless.

"If you aren't there, you'll be doing all the clinic hours for every doctor who does attend."

"What if I have a patient?"

"Your team can handle your non-existent patient for a few hours."

"But…"

"No more, House. You'll be there." With that, she walked away from him before he could call her any of the choice names he wanted to call her.

Now he looked around the room. He had to admit the setting was excellent. The Marsden Foundation apparently had very deep pockets.

This was their annual dinner and they were presenting the new Foundation Director. Representatives from their contributors and beneficiaries were all in attendance.

The venue was a restaurant on the top – the twentieth floor – of a hotel. The view was breathtaking, with the university and the river all visible. It had started at dusk, so that the guests could appreciate the view before the sun went down. That had just happened and now there was a full moon, which almost seemed to be right outside the windows, with the lights of Princeton glowing beneath it.

He wasn't much of a moon gazer, but even he had to admit it was pretty awesome.

As he looked around the room, he saw something else that was pretty awesome.

She had dark brown hair, pulled into a neat, but casual chignon. Aristocratic features on her face with high cheekbones and full red lips. Very kissable lips.

The body was very doable as well. She wore a long red gown, in a soft fabric, studded with sequins and slit up to ass. As she walked, it revealed her long shapely legs. The dress also had a draped neckline that plunged in front and back. The neckline barely concealed her full, round breasts.

What a knockout, he thought.

Dinner was over. The food hadn't been too bad either. Thin slices of prime rib, scallops in wine sauce, and a salad of baby greens. The alcohol was top shelf as well. Still, he was ready to leave, except that he had to stay until the speech by the new chairman. Cuddy promised he could leave after that.

Since he had to be here, spending some time watching her would not be a hardship. There was at least forty-five minutes of schmoozing going on before the speech, so he may as well enjoy the view. His eyes kept roaming over her, watching the movement of her dress and every now and then catching a glimpse of the side of her ass as she walked.

He wasn't sure when he realized she was looking at him as well, since his gaze rarely made it to her face, but when it did, he saw her staring at him.

She gave him a once over as well, taking in the lean, tall frame, encased in the black tuxedo and crisp white shirt. All that formality offset by the roguish beard and the blue eyes full of mischief. She smiled slightly and walked up to him.

He stood perfectly still and waited to see what she was up to.

When she was next to him, he saw that her eyes were a beautiful turquoise as she looked him up and down. Then she said in a low, melodic voice, "Are you bored?"

"Why?"

"You've just spent the last fifteen minutes watching me."

"You're definitely the most interesting thing to watch in the room." He said, then glanced down at her cleavage. "Make that interesting things."

He waited to see if she would take offense, but instead she just smiled.

"Would you like to get some air?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

"Follow me." She led him to a door that opened onto a balcony. She was aware of the cane, so she took her time, allowing him to keep pace with her. She continued through the balcony to a small, private alcove with a carved wooden bench.

"Sit down." She ordered.

"Why?" He asked her.

"Why not?"

He gave her a wary look.

"You won't be sorry." She whispered.

Deciding to see what she had in mind, he sat. She immediately straddled his lap and leaned in for a long, slow kiss. His hands immediately went around her back and slid down to her ass. It was just as firm as he'd thought. She wiggled and moved closer, sending shivers of joy and anticipation to his cock.

She lifted her lips from his. "Is this okay?" she asked breathlessly.

"Oh, yes." He mumbled, finding it hard to talk. She smiled again, the light of the full moon illuminating her lovely face. She pulled back from him just far enough to reach down, unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. He helped her move his boxers aside and release his semi-erect organ.

A few ministrations from her hand and he was at full salute. She reached into her dress and, from her bra, pulled out a foil packet.

"Wow." He ground out. "I love a woman who's prepared."

"Always." She said as she opened it and covered him. Then she stood quickly, reached under the dress and slid a red silk thong down her smooth legs. She moved back onto his lap and impaled herself on him. He groaned in ecstasy as she moved up and down on top of him.

The moon gave an unearthly glow to her lovely face as she writhed and moaned on top of him. Just when he knew he couldn't hold it much longer, he could see that she was close as well. He thrust up into her and, with a small cry, she went over the edge. Just in time for him as he followed her.

She rested against him for a moment, catching her breath, then she stood up, retrieved her underwear and slid it on.

He was thinking about righting his own clothes, when she said, "That was great. Thanks."

He wondered about her casual tone as she turned and headed back to the restaurant.

It took him a few minutes to pull himself together before he returned. When he entered the room, his eyes scanned it for her, but he didn't see her.

So he headed to the bar. Recent activities had made him very thirsty. But he was waylaid by Cuddy.

"Where have you been?" she hissed.

"Aw, did you miss me? Or did the twins?" He asked, glancing down at the cleavage above her midnight blue dress.

"When I couldn't find you, I thought you'd left."

"I promised to stay until the speech. I'm a man of my word."

"Since when?"

"Since you threatened me."

She glared at him. "The presentation will begin any moment, so come on."

She pulled on his arm, leading him to the table where Wilson and some of the other department heads sat. He took his place next to his best friend.

"Where've you been?" Wilson asked him. "Cuddy was having a fit."

"Jimmy boy, you have no idea." House said with an evil grin.

"What…?" Wilson began, just as a man stepped up to the podium.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" The man said. People took their seats and settled in.

"Thank you all for coming this evening. I am Benjamin Anderson, a Vice-President of Marsden Industries, who, as you know is the parent company of the Marsden Foundation. We are very happy to welcome our contributors and beneficiaries. We are also very pleased to begin a new chapter in the Foundation's history tonight.

"The Marsden Foundation was established over fifty years ago by Stewart Marsden, an industrialist and investor. He believed, as a community leader, he had a responsibility to provide for those less fortunate. So before he died, he set up the Marsden Foundation, with his brother-in law as the Foundation's first director."

"Trying to get salvation before he died." House whispered to Wilson. "Nobel made dynamite and killed thousands before setting up the Nobel Peace Prize."

"Shhh." Cuddy said, giving him a pointed stare.

"Hmph." House said, folding his arms.

The man at the podium continued. "William Reynolds ran the Foundation for over twenty years, until his death, when the chairmanship was taken over by his son, William, Jr., who successfully guided it for the last thirty years and made it once of the most successful charitable organizations in the country. When he announced last year that he would be retiring, the search began for his successor.

"Since Stewart believed that the Foundation should be administered by the Marsden family, the search started with his immediate descendants. We didn't have to look far. The person we've chosen has worked with the foundation since graduating from Penn and Wharton and has been instrumental in bringing us into the twenty-first century. So it is with great pleasure that I present Stewart Marsden's great granddaughter, our new Director, Victoria Marsden."

House watched in amazement as a flash of red moved onto the stage. The sequined gown shimmered and revealed her legs as she approached the podium and shook the Vice-President's hand.

He couldn't believe he'd just screwed the new director.

Victoria looked out among the people gathered and took a breath. She could do this. She was nervous earlier, as she usually was before addressing an audience. But that little sexual interlude had relaxed her enough to be able to speak without her voice shaking.

"Thank you, Ben. It's a pleasure to be here and to greet all of you. I've met some of you in my prior position at the Foundation, but I hope to meet all of you either tonight or in the next few weeks. My great grandfather had a wonderful vision when he started this organization…"

House tuned out her words, concentrating on her body language instead. She didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that she'd had sex less than an hour before her major speech. Her hair wasn't even out of place and her make-up was perfect. Of course, she had probably reapplied it after their tryst. Still, no one would guess.

And what would Cuddy say if she knew? He let out a little laugh and the person in question glared at him and shushed him once again. Wilson looked at him strangely, a question in his eyes. House just shook his head and mouthed, "Later."

The speech ended and everyone applauded. Victoria smiled and glanced around the room. Her eyes briefly met House's before moving on. She finally left the podium and started making her way around the room. She didn't come directly to his table, but he had a feeling she would make it there and he wasn't disappointed.

Cuddy immediately approached her and started gushing. "Ms Marsden, I'm Doctor Cuddy, the administrator of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. It's a pleasure to meet you. And I'd like to express my gratitude that your Foundation has selected us to be one of your beneficiaries."

"No need to thank me. I've followed your hospital's work and it's impressive. Exactly the type of organization we like to work with." As she spoke to Cuddy, her eyes drifted to House. "Are these some of your doctors?"

Realizing that Cuddy was going to try to bypass him, House stepped forward. "Hi, Gregory House, head of Diagnostics. Nice to meet you, Victoria."

Cuddy glared at him, but Victoria just smiled. "Doctor House. It's my pleasure. I'm so happy you were able to come."

"Oh, so am I." He answered with a glint in his eye.

She smiled at him, then exchanged a few more words with Cuddy, before moving on to greet the next group.

Cuddy started taking him to task. "How dare you be so familiar with her? She's the new Director of the Foundation that is going to give us a lot of money. She's also now a member of our board, which means she can vote to fire your ass."

"Relax, she's cool with me. Couldn't you see?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. She'd never know how the man did it, but he someone managed to turn everything to his advantage.

He left her and moved on to the bar for that drink he'd wanted earlier, Wilson trailing behind him.

"What's going on? Did you meet Victoria Marsden before?"

"Didn't exactly meet her. I mean we never exchanged names. Though we did exchange other things."

"What other things?" Wilson was clearly confused, until understanding dawned. "You don't mean that you and she…"

House just smiled.

"You are…unbelievable. I don't know how you manage it."

"Natural charm."

"Yeah, that is charm you find in nature. Grizzly bears, coyotes, wild boars."

House ignored his friend as his eyes followed his sex goddess around the room. She hadn't glanced his way since they'd spoken, but he had a feeling she was aware of him nonetheless.

He stayed at the bar for the next twenty minutes and eventually Victoria wandered over, ordering a glass of Evian water.

She looked at him and slipped a card to him, saying. "This is my private cell phone number. I have recently moved to the Princeton area. Would you be interested in a repeat of our earlier activity?"

"I could get into that."

She smiled. "Fine. I'll call you."

"You don't have my number."

She just gave him a look. "Of course I do, Doctor House. I'm on your board. I most definitely have your number."

He nodded. Of course she did.

"Oh, and don't be thinking you're going to get any advantages either financial or in your career from this liaison. This is just sex."

"I can live with that."

She nodded, took a large swallow of the water, put the glass down and walked away.


	2. This Night Chapter 1

**Didn't I say I wasn't ready for romance?**

**_Chapter 1_**

_**I'm a man who can't say no…**_

It was about two weeks after the dinner. House was sitting in his office, trying to find an excuse to avoid clinic duty that Cuddy would buy. The ringing of his telephone interrupted his thought process. He glanced at it, annoyed, assuming it was Cuddy.

But the number was unfamiliar and he was curious enough to pick it up.

"House." He said.

There was a slight hesitation before he heard a female voice say, "Hello, Dr. House."

The voice was well-modulated and cultured. He'd heard it before, but it took him a few moments before he realized.

"Hello, Miss Marsden."

"You remembered me."

"You sort of made an unforgettable impression."

She laughed lightly. "Are you free this evening?"

"Actually, I'm always free. But if you think I'm easy – well, you'd be right then too."

She laughed again. "Would you be interested in getting together?"

"I think I could be persuaded."

"Lovely. If you could come to my home at eight."

"Sure."

She gave him the address. "The doorman will have your name. He may ask to see identification."

"No problem."

She said goodbye and hung up. House sat and stared at the telephone, wondering if the upcoming evening would be a repeat of their meeting. As he thought of that, a small smile touched his lips and sent him loose in erotic thoughts.

So much so that he didn't see Cuddy enter. As a penance for his fantasies, he spent the rest of the afternoon in the clinic. Somehow, it didn't seem as bad as usual.

When House pulled up to the high rise, he was impressed. It was a very exclusive building in a very exclusive part of town. He wondered where he should park, but after the doorman checked his identification, he directed him to the below ground parking lot. He also gave him instructions on reaching the Marsden residence.

He parked his bike and went to the elevator. The elevator operator asked him where he was going and when House told him, he used a key to take the car to the fifteenth floor. The elevator opened into a small lobby. There was only one door. House took a deep breath, wondering if he was doing the right thing. But since he was already there, he figured he would go through with it.

He rang the doorbell. It didn't buzz or ding. It made a light, musical sound. Figures, he thought.

The door was opened by a young man wearing business casual clothes. They may have been casual, but they were well-tailored and probably by some designer. House thought briefly about his own wrinkled shirt and jeans. What the hell? She didn't complain at the fundraiser. If she had complaints now, the hell with her. And, if things proceeded as he hoped, he wouldn't be wearing his clothes much longer anyway.

"Are you Dr. House?" the young man asked.

"Yes."

"Hello, I'm Nathan. I'm Victoria's assistant. Please come in. Victoria is running a little late, but she'll be right with you."

He followed him into a large living room. It was decorated in pale creams and beiges. There was a seating area with two large sofas in an L shape with a large screen plasma television on the wall.

"Sweet." House thought.

There was another smaller seating area with two chairs and a small table between them. They backed up to doors leading out to a balcony and a breathtaking view of the river. In another section of the room was a dark wood grand piano.

He wanted to saunter over there and sit down to relieve his tension, but her assistant was still there. So instead, he sat down on one of the chairs.

Once he saw that House was situated in the living room, Nathan nodded and left. A few moments later, an older woman entered.

"Hello, Dr. House," she said with a South Philadelphia accent. "I'm Anita, Victoria's housekeeper. May I get you a drink?"

"Sure. Scotch?"

"Of course. Rocks or neat?"

"Neat."

She nodded and left as well, but returned mere seconds later with a glass and a coaster. She placed it on a table.

"Would you like anything else?"

"Nope. I'm good. Thanks."

She nodded again and left.

He picked up the glass and took a sip. Ah, the good stuff. There was definitely an advantage to being in the lap of luxury. Not the least of it being the lap itself, he thought, as Victoria Marsden entered in a rush, wine glass in hand.

"I am so sorry! My last meeting was supposed to end at seven and, of course, it ran late. Did Anita get you a drink? Oh, I see that she did."

"No problems." He told her, his eyes going over her slim form in off-white slacks and creamy silk blouse.

"Well, I don't like to keep anyone waiting. It's inconsiderate. So I do apologize."

She took a seat on the other one of the comfortable chairs by the window and smiled at him.

"So, Dr. House."

"Yes, Miss Marsden?"

She chuckled. "Please call me Victoria. And your first name is Gregory, I believe?"

"Greg. Or House. Not Gregory."

She nodded and took a sip of her wine. "Well, Greg, I am sure you are wondering why I invited you here."

"I'm hoping I know." He said, smiling slightly.

She smiled as well. "Before any of that, I wish to discuss this with you."

He gave her a quizzical look. "Discuss? What? Positions?"

"No." She took a deep breath. "I'd like to explain my situation to you, so that you understand it. I am a very busy woman. My career is very important to me. I have worked very hard to attain the position I have. I have done it not because of my family name, but in spite of it. My family does not believe that women should be in positions of power. Since I disagree with that, I've had to fight them my entire life. But it's paid off, in that I have achieved a good deal of success.

"Of course, that struggle has left me little time nor inclination to develop personal relationships. Frankly, I don't see the need. I don't require a man to support me, to help me in my career or do any of the daily tasks that women ask of men. There is only one thing that I require from a man. You fulfilled that need on the night of the dinner."

He gave her an odd look. "You don't really even need a man for that. Technology hath provided."

"So true. And I do employ technology. However, I find that it is not always a satisfactory substitute. The real thing is so much better. But if I have to deal with all of the protocol of forming a relationship with someone, well, it's too exhausting. I have facilitated the process by finding interesting and attractive males to have a physical -- liaison, if you will, with."

He was shocked. "Are you saying you just want to have sex with me?"

"Yes. When I feel the need for sex, I will contact you and if you are willing and available, we can get together. And, by the same token, should you wish to contact me, you may. I can't guarantee my availability, as my career requires me to attend many events in the evening, but I would be amenable at the times I was available."

"Would you need me to go to those events with you?"

"Oh, heavens no! I am trying to make good impressions and get people to donate money and such. You don't have a reputation for tact."

"So I don't have to take you out on dates, I don't have to go to parties with you, I don't have to meet your friends? I just have to be available for booty calls."

"A colloquial way of expressing it, but essentially, yes. Oh, this is based on your performance tonight. If all is …as it should be, then yes."

"My performance at the dinner wasn't good enough?"

"Your performance at the dinner led to this meeting. But that effort was accomplished quickly and not a true measure of your abilities. Still, I have great faith in you."

"Gee thanks. No pressure though."

She smiled. "Greg, we're both busy people. I know that you have on occasion employed professionals. I don't blame you. I sometimes wish I could, but in my position if that was discovered, it would not bode well. What I am proposing would be beneficial to both of us, allowing us the release we both require, without the cumbersome trappings of a relationship."

He stared at her. Could this really be happening? Could this beautiful sexy woman really be asking him to have sex with her with no strings?

"Sounds like a win-win to me, Vic." He told her.

She raised her eyebrows at the shortened version of her name, but she didn't comment on it. "Good. Then let's move on with the rest of our evening."

She rose and started out of the room, motioning for him to follow her. He did and they continued out of the living room and down a small hallway. She finally opened the door to a room at the end of the hall.

Her bedroom was as well-decorated as the living room had been, but there was more comfort in this room. It was done in white and pastels. There was a large bay window that also looked out over the river. A dressing table was facing the window and the bed was nearby. There were comfortable sofas and chairs in a seating area. There was also an upholstered chaise by a small fireplace. His imagination immediately went to the possibilities available for that piece of furniture.

"Since this is your game, is there anything in particular you want?" he asked her.

"I prefer spontaneity and I want you to be yourself. Feel free to do what you would normally do. If there is anything I don't want, I will tell you immediately. I expect you to stop if that happens."

"No problem."

"Then, please, proceed."


	3. This Night Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

_**He was never in control here…**_

He walked close to her and started to pull her into his arms, but she stopped him.

"Romance isn't necessary. I'm okay with just going for it."

He blew out a breath. "I'm fifty years old. The engine doesn't start as quickly as it used to. Even when there's a hot new model beside it. I'm not worried about romance. But I do need a little effort to get going."

She nodded. "Understood."

She went to him and put her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. Tongues met and danced. His hands moved up and down her body and she responded the same.

She started making some moves, but he stopped her.

"No, you called the shots last time. If this is my audition, I'm making the calls here."

"Fair enough."

He reached out and slowly unbuttoned her blouse, then slid it off her shoulders, pulling it out of her slacks, and letting it drop to the floor. He touched the cream-colored lace bra and ran his finger along the edge, then dipped it inside. He pulled her close, reached behind her and unhooked the bra with a quick motion.

"Pretty slick." She said.

He smiled. "Learned that trick in high school. It's like riding a bike. You never forget."

She smiled too and stepped back, letting the garment fall to the floor.

"You get rid of the pants." He told her.

She opened the clasp and pulled down the zipper, slowly. The slacks fell to the floor, revealing a pair of creamy lace bikini panties. House took a deep breath. Even though he'd had sex with her already, he hadn't gotten the full show that night. It was better than he imagined. But he had to concentrate if he wanted to get this gig.

He pulled her into his arms again and kissed her, pushing her gently to the bed as he did so. When they got there, he told, her, "Lay down."

She did so and he climbed on the bed beside her. He kissed her lips again, then started moving slowly down her body, taking time to concentrate on the nipples for awhile before moving south. Slowly, tortuously so, he let his lips and his tongue work their way down, until he reached the pinnacle. As his tongue made love to her, he could feel her start to moan and writhe in ecstasy. She was falling over the edge, when he moved off.

He grabbed the condom that he'd stuffed in his pocket and pulled off his trousers, dressed his already hard cock and moved on top of her. He plunged inside of her, before her orgasm was finished and starting moving in and out. She gasped in surprise and pleasure, but her legs went around his waist as she accepted each of his thrusts.

Before long he was building and he could feel her starting again. He held off long enough to let go when she did and they tumbled together.

She lay back, spent.

"Do I get the job?" he asked.

"Yes." She said breathlessly. "Oh yes."

He smiled and closed his eyes. But opened them again when she turned on the light.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You need to leave."

"What? Why? Are you married?"

"Lord, no! No, I just don't like to sleep with anyone. So, this was great and we'll get together again soon. But I'd like you to leave now."

He stared at her incredulously. "You have to be kidding me! It's the middle of the night. And in case you haven't noticed, my leg is not one hundred percent there. The activity we just did makes it hurt. Do you really think I can just jump out of bed and go home that easily?"

She thought about that for a moment. "You're right, that is insensitive of me."

He nodded and lay back. But then she said, "You can sleep in the guest room next door."

"What?"

"You don't have to leave. You can stay here. Just not in my bed. There's a very nice guest room. You can sleep there."

The hard look in her eyes told him that arguing would get him nowhere. But agreeing might get him more sex in the future.

"Fine." He pulled himself up, picked up his cane and limped, naked, towards the bedroom door.

"It's the door to the right."

He didn't answer, just left and found the door she indicated. He opened it and flipped the light switch. It turned on the table lamp. While not Victoria's master suite, it was a very nice room and actually a lot more masculine. He limped to the bed and collapsed on top of it. He reached over and turned off the lamp and soon fell asleep.

When he woke up, the sun was shining through the window. He closed his eyes against the bright sunshine. It took him a moment to remember where he was. Then it came back to him.

He smiled at the memory of the great sex. But then he remembered how she tossed him out of her room.

Shit, he thought, he'd have to go back to her room for his clothes. He struggled to sit up and get out of bed.

Then he saw his shirt, jacket and jeans hanging neatly on hangers in the room. They even looked like they'd been …_ironed!_ How had that happened?

Must have been the housekeeper. Which meant she had come into this room and saw him sleeping on the bed in all his naked glory. Oh well, nice treat for the woman.

The room had its own bathroom, so he took a quick shower and dressed as quickly as possible. Then he limped out of the room. Victoria's bedroom door was open, but a quick glance told him it was empty. He made his way to the living room. He was about to head for the front door when he was intercepted by the housekeeper.

"Good morning, Dr. House. Would you like some coffee?"

He really, really wanted some coffee. He didn't think he could make it home without some caffeine.

"Yeah, I really would."

"Sit wherever you'd like. I'll bring it to you."

He wasn't sure if he should be letting the woman serve him like that.

"That's okay, I can come to the kitchen."

She smiled and turned. He followed her into a bright, modern room, equipped with all the latest appliances.

"Please sit, Dr. House. Can I get you something to eat? Eggs? Pancakes? Bagel?"

As he sat at the table, he said, "A bagel would be great."

She nodded and went to the counter to get his coffee and bagel.

"I assume you brought my clothes in. Thanks."

"That's no problem."

"Sorry about the, um, show."

She glanced at him briefly, before turning back to the counter. "Dr. House, I was married for twenty-seven years and raised two sons. Believe me, I've seen it plenty of times before. There's very little that shocks me."

Not being a man who let an opportunity to snoop pass him by, House asked the woman, "So how long have you worked for Victoria?"

She gave him a long look before answering him. "Five years. But if you're thinking you're going to get information out of me about Victoria, you can think again. I'm not about to start spilling secrets about her to you. She gave me a job. You're a stranger."

"Hey, I'm not looking for secrets. Just making conversation."

She brought the coffee cup and the bagel to the table, returned to get her own cup and sat down beside him.

"If you're going to ask me about the other men in her life, all I'm saying is don't be thinking you're special. She's a strong, independent woman and she doesn't need a man to complete her life. Be happy that she's included you at all."

"The only other thing I'll say is she's extremely honest and fair in business and her personal life. I had no experience as a housekeeper, but she gave me a chance and she hired me. She's treated me very well and I'm not about to jeopardize that."

"I can understand that. What did you do before?"

"I told you, I was married."

"That's not a job."

She shrugged. "You may not think so, but in South Philadelphia where I grew up it was. I got married right out of high school and got pregnant right away. Taking care of my husband and kids was a full time, twenty-four hour a day job."

"So what happened to that job?"

"My husband died. And I needed to get the other kind of job. But I had no experience at doing anything except keeping house. So, I thought why not be a housekeeper? Made sense to me. But most people didn't think so. They didn't want a forty-something woman who hadn't worked for anyone else.

"Victoria was the only one who saw something else. She gave me a three-day trial. She told me if I could do the job, it was mine. I was scared to death, but I did it. And she hired me.

"That's the thing about her. She has a knack. She can look beyond what's on the surface to the person you could be. I love working for her and I take really good care of her."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And that means I also keep my eye on the men in her life. If you hurt her in any way, you're out of here."

He finished up his bagel and rose. "No chance of that. She made it clear this is just a physical relationship."

Anita nodded. "Well, we'll see."

"Goodbye, Anita."

"Goodbye, Dr. House."


	4. This Night Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_**She's got style and she's got her own money… **_

Later that day, in his office, he did a Google search on his new lover. There was a lot of information on the Marsden family. A lot of it was the same stuff that had been said at the dinner, history of the family and how her great-grandfather had started the company, blah, blah.

Finally, he found the information about Victoria. As part of one of Philadelphia's most prominent Main Line families, she had attended the best schools. She had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received an MBA from Wharton. After college, she had started working for the family business.

There was very little about her personal life. She had never married. An expected engagement to the member of another Main Line Philadelphia family had not come to pass and he had married another. But Victoria was a guest at the wedding and reported to be friends with the man.

She had a brother, unmarried, who also worked for the family business. No other siblings. Both parents still alive.

There were no stories about who she had been seen with or anything of the sort. Apparently she attended events alone or, sometimes with her brother.

What she had told him seemed to be true. She wasn't looking for a boyfriend. Apparently, she wasn't lying when she said that all she wanted was a sex partner.

Two days later, she called him again. He agreed to see her. This time the doorman remembered him, which made him assume that he was the only one she was sleeping with at the moment.

Nathan greeted him at the door, but was on his way out.

"Victoria is waiting for you in her bedroom, Dr. House. Goodnight."

House walked through the apartment to the bedroom. Victoria was sitting on one of the sofas with papers and a glass of wine. Another glass with amber liquid was sitting on a tray nearby.

"You chose scotch the other night, so I had Anita pour you one." She said, looking up at him.

She was wearing a soft pair of black slacks with a loose pink top and looked incredibly beautiful.

"Thanks." He said, sitting on the opposite sofa and picking up the glass.

"I'm almost finished here." She told him.

"Take your time."

A few moments later, she put the papers aside and looked up. "I'm sorry, I just needed to finish that."

"No problem."

They sat quietly for a bit, sipping their drinks.

Finally, he spoke. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why me?"

"What?"

"Why did you pick me for this …position? I mean, you're gorgeous and rich and important. You could have picked someone just as rich and important, younger and studlier, anything. I'm fifty years old." He indicated his cane. "I'm a cripple. And I'm not exactly known for my sparkling personality. So, why me?"

"You don't think your performance at the dinner wasn't enough to convince me?'

"No. Because I don't why you picked me at the dinner. And even if I was a port in the storm, so to speak, you didn't need to call me. While that performance may have been good, it sure as hell wasn't my best. I still need to know, why me?"

She was silent, staring at her wineglass for awhile. "Anita told me you asked her how long she'd worked for me."

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not. This is related to your question. When my last housekeeper retired, my family advised me to hire someone from an agency. That wasn't what I wanted. I needed someone to be more than a servant. I needed someone to take care of the aspects of my life I didn't have time for. I needed a…a…"

"A wife." He finished for her.

"Exactly. So I hired a woman who had spent the last twenty-some years being that. My family and friends thought I was nuts, but as soon as I met her, I knew she was perfect for the job. I was right.

"Nathan was attending community college and working part time in the mail room at Marsden Industries. He helped me out whenever I went there. I saw right away how smart he was and how capable. I hired him and helped him with the tuition for a four-year college. When he graduated, I hired him as my assistant. It's been three years and he's been excellent. So good that I'm going to need to give him a promotion soon or some other company will hire him away from me.

"Anyway, I have a sense about people. I can see beyond the façade. People that may not seem to fit the form are often exactly what I need.

He stared at her. "Are you saying that you saw me at that dinner and knew at first glance that I was a super stud?"

She smiled. "Well, let's just say that I thought you were…interesting."

"Interesting? I prefer super stud."

She laughed. "So do I. But let's just say interesting for now. And you have continued to be interesting…so far. When you cease to be, then we'll reassess."

"So you're putting pressure on me to keep you interested?"

"Absolutely not. I only expect you to be yourself. If I am not interested, that's my problem. I also did some research on you. You've never been married, one serious relationship that did not last. Which tells me that you and I are alike in many ways. Greg, this isn't a romance. It's only the barest of relationships. We can be friends and we are certainly lovers. I don't expect you to be more than that."

"But that still doesn't answer my question. Why not a younger and studlier guy?"

"I told you – you're interesting. Young men may be attractive, but they're boring. The only thing they care to talk about is themselves. I also prefer to not be the target of some gigolo."

"So why not some rich society guy?"

"Same reason. I grew up with men like that and all they want to talk about is their money. Not much difference."

"So me?"

"You're different. Interesting. Maybe a little dangerous. But not too dangerous. And so far, the sex has been fantastic."

He nodded. "So should we see if I can keep that part going?"

"Oh, yes, please." She reached out her hand and he took it and led her to the bed.


	5. This Night Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4 **_

_**Sometimes a fantasy is all you need…**_

Every few days, she would call him and he would go to her apartment. They would have sex – awesome sex – and then she would send him to sleep in the guest room. It bothered him a bit, but he figured sex with a hot woman was worth having to stumble naked to another room to sleep.

Every morning that he stayed, he'd find his clothes, pressed and hanging in his room. Anita really was a terrific wife. Victoria was always gone. He'd have coffee and breakfast with the housekeeper before leaving.

He liked Anita. She was down to earth and funny. He learned that her husband had been a Philadelphia policeman who was killed on the job. Her two sons were married. One of them was a cop as well, the other a lawyer. She was very proud of them. But she was happy to have her job.

One morning Victoria was getting dressed when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." She called out, assuming it was Anita. She was surprised to see House walk in.

"Sorry to bother you. I need my clothes." He said, reaching for them.

"Well, you're up early." She told him. "Anita hasn't even gotten here yet."

"Believe me, I know. Hospital called." He had taken to bringing his cell phone to the bedroom with him after the team had been unable to reach him and Cuddy had reamed him good about that and assigned him double clinic that week.

"Oh, you have a patient?"

"Yeah." He quickly put his clothes on and grabbed his jacket and cane. Then he turned to her. "Uh, last night was great."

"It's always great."

"Well, that was especially great."

"Maybe we can do it again tonight or tomorrow?"

"Sounds good." He felt a little awkward. He didn't usually see her in the morning, so he wasn't quite sure how to behave. He made a decision and leaned in to quickly kiss her on the mouth.

"Bye." He said and headed out the door.

"Bye." She said softly as he left. Well, this was different. She usually didn't see her lovers in the morning. She liked it better that way. Morning was always awkward and she certainly did not expect Gregory House to be sweet. Still, the kiss was nice.

Her day, hell, her life was filled with way too much to worry about whether a man was being sweet. The whole point of this arrangement was that she didn't have to try too hard. All she had to do was have sex with him. Nothing more.

However, Greg House was an interesting man. With the few conversations that they'd had, he was smart and funny. It was definitely a bonus to be sleeping with a man who could entertain a woman outside of the bedroom as well.

Still, she was reluctant to get too close to him. She didn't have the time for a real relationship with any man, nor did she want one. Keeping this casual, just friends – friends with benefits – was exactly what she wanted.

She also preferred to keep her relationships with men separate from her family and friends. If no one got attached to the guy, no one nagged her when it ended.

So when she went to Marsden Industries later that day for a meeting and had lunch with her brother she didn't intend to mention the blue-eyed man that was sharing her bed.

Andrew Marsden was a few years older than his sister, but with the same elegant good looks. Brother and sister were both close friends and rivals. Victoria wanted his position at the company. And her brother was the only one who understood how much.

So he was often on the receiving end of her complaints.

"Tori, you can't expect all those years of male tradition to go out the window overnight."

"Overnight? Overnight? I graduated from Wharton over fifteen years ago. I've been working my behind off since then."

"For our family, fifteen years is a drop in the bucket. They're not going to make you president that quickly."

"I don't expect to be president, Drew. Well, not yet. But a vice-presidency, with a chance for advancement would be nice."

"They gave you the Foundation. That's big for Dad and Uncle Leland."

She sighed. "I know, I know. And I love the Foundation. But there's just so much more I can do. And the only reason they won't let me do it is that I have a vagina."

Her brother laughed. "Prove yourself there and they'll have to accept you, vagina and all. Remember, it's the money that really talks."

She studied him. "Well, if the money talks, you've been shouting the last few years. You've brought them millions."

He nodded.

"So then why can't you be honest with them?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't start on this, Tori. That's a totally different situation. They'll accept you and your vagina before they'll accept me having no interest in one."

She shook her head. "It's so unfair! The men in our family have had all sorts of sexual encounters with all sorts of people. Just because you want to do the same things with a man…"

"Tori, Dad would have a heart attack and I would be out of the company. You know that. I'm fine. I know how to be discreet and so do my lovers. Don't worry about it."

She stared at him, obviously not happy.

"Speaking of lovers, anyone new in your life?"

She smiled. "Actually yes. I've been sleeping with the very sexy doctor."

"A doctor, huh? Would I like him?"

"Well, let's see. Tall, blue eyes, scruffy beard, sexy smile."

"Sounds like my type."

"Hands off. Anyway, he doesn't bat for your team."

"My dear sister, you would be surprised."

"Oh, no, definitely not Greg House."

They laughed and she hugged her brother. "Take care, Drew."

"Drive safely, baby sister."


	6. This Night Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_**Sing us a song tonight…**_

House arrived at her apartment one night to find her in the kitchen with a glass of wine and a salad. Her IPOD was in her ear. He walked up and pulled the ear bud out of the left one and listened for a moment.

"Billy Joel?" he asked.

"Yes, he's one of my favorites." She took out the ear buds and turned off the IPOD

"So you like the Piano Man?"

"Yes, I do."

He took her hand and led her to her living room, where he sat down at the grand piano. He started the beginning riff of 'Piano Man' while she watched him in amazement. Every note was perfect as he played the song. When he got to the chorus, he sang softly:

_Sing us a song, you're the piano man,_

_Sing us a song tonight_

_We're all in the mood for a melody_

_And you got us feeling alright._

When he finished the song, she just stared at him.

"I had no idea you could do that."

"You had me checked out. Are you telling me you didn't know I played piano?"

"Playing piano is one thing. Playing like that is completely different."

"Do you play?"

"I know how. But I don't."

"Why not?"

"Mostly because I can't do what you just did. I learned in school. It was considered one the gentle arts ladies were supposed to learn. Along with drawing. And that's probably why I don't wish to play now. I don't draw either. Our math and science programs were terrible. But everyone could draw and play piano. It was ridiculous. So I rebelled by doing those things badly."

"Why do you have a piano like this here if you don't play?"

"For parties. It's nice to have someone playing piano softly. Keeps everyone relaxed and in a good mood. And I do love to hear it when someone plays. Especially the way you can."

He started playing again. She stood by the piano and watched him.

His eyes met hers and he said, "Come here."

"What?"

He angled his head the left. "Sit here, next to me."

She hesitated, then sat beside him. He played the opening riff of 'The Stranger'. It's melancholy, beautiful sound put her into a semi-trance. When he stopped, he turned his head to look at her. She looked at him and his lips touched hers. The kiss deepened and his arms went her around her back, while hers twined around his neck. He moved his lips from hers to trail kisses across her face and to her neck. She moaned in pleasure as he kissed her neck and nipped her ear.

"We should move to the bedroom." She said.

"We will." He answered. "Just not yet."

She looked at him in confusion.

He pushed the piano bench back a bit and opened his legs.

"Come here." He told her.

She gave him an odd look, but moved so that she was sitting in front of him. He reached his arms around her and pulled her back against him. He kissed her on her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. His hands moved up and caressed her breasts, gently. She leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. Then, his right hand moved down and under her waistband. He kept moving it down until he found her core and moved his fingers down. He caressed her there until she was moaning under his touch.

As she started to breathe regularly again, he kissed her on the neck again and she squirmed under his hands.

"You see? If I'd learned THAT at the piano, lessons would have been much more interesting." She said.

He chuckled.

She leaned back against him and told him, "Time to move to the bedroom so that I can return the favor."

"Sounds good to me."


	7. This Night Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

_**We were always friends…**_

House wandered into Wilson's office and plopped down on the sofa. His friend looked up from his work and stared at his friend.

"Where have you been?" The younger man asked House. "I was at your place last night and you weren't home. And that's not the first time."

House just smiled and waggled his eyebrows.

"A woman? But if you found a new hooker, why isn't she coming to you."

"Not a hooker."

Wilson frowned. "A real woman? Like a relationship?"

Now House frowned. "Well, definitely a real woman. I don't know about that relationship thing. But the sex is awesome."

"Who is she?"

"Can't tell you. Trying to be discreet."

Wilson let out a laugh. "Does she realize who she's talking to? And why do you need to be discrete? Is she married?"

"No. Just a tad important around here."

"Oh my God, you're sleeping with Cuddy."

"Does it look like my skin's peeled away? Of course, I'm not sleeping with Cuddy."

"But you said someone important…wait, are you talking about the woman you got together with at the dinner? The Foundation president and PPTH board member?"

House smiled again.

Wilson shook his head. "You do realize that if you somehow, wait, when you somehow screw this up, Cuddy will feed your balls to the dog?"

"I'm not messing anything up. We're just friends."

"Do you like her?"

"I like the sex. A lot."

"This isn't a good idea."

"It's a great idea. And I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, sounds like it. House, be careful."

"I never realized how little faith you have in me."

" I have a lot of faith in you. Faith that you're going to screw this up."

At that same time, Victoria was in Philadelphia in a lovely Society Hill townhouse, drinking coffee with her best friend (who was also her first cousin).

"I've barely seen you since you've moved to Princeton." Grace Marsden said.

"It's been so busy with the new job and getting my apartment decorated. I've finally gotten to the point where I can take a breath."

"And is there any man taking a breath with you?"

Victoria shook her head. "Is sex all you think about? And how do you always know when I'm sleeping with someone?"

"What else should I be thinking about? And you have a glow when you're getting some."

"That's bullshit. A woman is not a reflection of a man's lovemaking."

"No, she isn't. But you just always look better when you have sex on a regular basis. So who is he?"

Victoria gave her the rundown on Dr. Gregory House, while her friend sat back and smiled.

Grace Marsden was one year older than Victoria. In reality, they were more like sisters than cousins. They had grown up together and been sent to the same private schools through high school.

But that was where their paths divided. Grace had followed the family tradition. The women of the family went to Bryn Mawr college, obtained a Liberal Arts degree and married the first man from their set that proposed.

When Grace married Richard Taylor a month after graduation, Victoria had tried to talk her out of it. But she had also been her maid of honor and godmother to her son when he was born two years later.

Victoria on the other hand, had rejected the Main Line college and had attended the University of Pennsylvania as the men in her family did and followed it with Wharton to obtain an MBA.

And even though she had received marriage proposals from men in her circle, she had no interest in marrying them.

"Well, he sounds yummy." Grace said. "And I'm not even going to ask if you think you could be serious about him."

"Good. That means you're learning."

"But darling, you're almost forty years old."

"Thank you. I'd almost forgotten my age."

"I've had two marriages and been engaged more times than I can remember."

"And that's exactly why I've never done it."

Grace laughed and shook her blonde head. "You're such a romantic, Tori."

"What? Me? Romantic? You're nuts. I'm the farthest thing from a romantic. I don't want love. I don't want romance. I just want sex."

"No, you need sex. And, God, don't we all! But you only want love if you can be sure it will last. And since love doesn't offer any guarantees, you'd rather do without."

"You're nuts. All I want is to be CEO of Marsden Industries."

"Well, having a career goal is a good substitute for love, I suppose. But what about children? You used to want children."

"As you so clearly just pointed out, I'm almost forty. I think that ship has sailed."

"Not necessarily."

"Leave it, Grace. It's not a subject that I want to get into right now."

"Does it still bother you?"

"Leave it."

Grace knew when it was time to change the subject and this was the time. "So tell me some more about this yummy sounding Dr. House. How is he in the bedroom."

Victoria laughed. "Not that I should be relating this to you, but he's …good."

"Just good? How 'good' are we talking about?"

"Very good. One of the best I've ever had good."

"Better than that French actor?"

Victoria thought for a moment. "Yes, better than Etienne."

"How about that stockbroker?"

"Oh, definitely. He was only up when the market was. I mean, he was REALLY up then. But when the market dropped, well, so did he."

Grace giggled. "Must have been something checking the Wall Street Journal before every date."

"You said it."

"How about that Russian? The one who worked at MIT?"

Victoria closed her eyes. "Peter was …terrific."

"So, how does Dr. House measure up?"

"He 'measures' up just fine. As far as performance goes, well, I think given a little more time together, he'll surpass the Russian."

"Oh my!"


	8. This Night Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Calls me when she needs a good fix…**_

Victoria would call House whenever she was interested in getting together. Unless he was busy with a patient, he always agreed. Why not? A beautiful woman called him for sex. Occasionally, he called her, and if she was free, she would invite him over. She usually beat him to the punch though.

One evening, he was already at home when she called.

"Hi, Greg. Can you come over?" she asked.

"Actually, no, I can't. I had a rough day, I'm exhausted and I've already had a few drinks."

"Oh. Well, I understand. That's fine."

He hesitated for a moment, before saying, "You could come over here if you want."

"What?"

"I can't drive anywhere right now and I'm too tired to leave home. But you could come here."

She sat there, biting her lip and thinking about it. She really wanted to see him, but she preferred their meetings in her home. Still, what could it hurt?

"I suppose that would be alright." She said.

"Do you know the address?"

"Of course."

"Of course. Okay, see you."

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on his door. He opened it to find her standing there looking as lovely as usual in a pair of designer jeans and a red sweater. Her hair was hanging loose and her makeup was lightly applied.

He felt grungy in his jeans and t-shirt, with his bare feet. He should have showered before she arrived, but he was just too tired to move.

"Hi." He said.

"Hello." She walked in and her eyes roamed the room, taking in the books, the piano and other musical instruments and the papers strewn around.

"Sorry about the mess. Didn't have the energy to clean up. Me either, I'm afraid."

"Not a problem." She sat on the sofa. "I assume you had a hard day?"

"You would assume right." He took a sip of his drink, then titled the glass towards her. "Want one?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

He sat down beside her, leaned back on the sofa and watched her as she tried to make herself comfortable. "You seem a little weirded out by this."

"I have to admit, I usually prefer to be in my own place. But this is fine."

He gave a little laugh. "You're weirded out. Don't worry, you'll survive. Come on."

He put his glass down on the table and stood up. He reached out his hand for her. She took it and he led her into his bedroom. As usual, clothes were shed pretty quickly. He lay down on his back and looked at her.

"I told you, I'm pretty beat. Remember, you picked a fifty-year-old lover. You're going to have to get the engine started."

"That's not a problem." She moved over to him and began placing kisses on his chest, working her way around. She licked his nipples and his neck and he started to relax and enjoy the sensation of her tongue as it moved over his body. She worked her way down using her tongue and fingers to get him aroused. It was working.

Finally, her tongue moved to his cock and started licking. Then she took him into her mouth. He groaned with pleasure as she kept sucking and licking. When she saw that he was at full attention and going crazy form her ministrations, she moved to straddle him, but at the last moment turned so that her back was to him. He put his hands on her ass as she began moving up and down and back and forth.

The exquisite pleasure of their movements soon had her going over the edge and she collapsed, but he pulled her onto her back and entered her once again. He pulled her legs up onto his shoulders and pounded into her. It took only a few minutes before he emptied himself.

They both lay back on the bed, totally spent. Victoria wasn't sure what to do next, but he gathered her into his arms.

"I should leave." She whispered.

"It's late. It's cold. It won't kill you to sleep here."

"Yes, but…"

"And I mean here, not in another room." He pulled her closer. "Sleep. Now."

She thought about getting up and leaving anyway, but she was exhausted too. The sex was so hot and she was really tired. What could it hurt?


	9. This Night Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

_**Either way it's okay to wake up with yourself…**_

Victoria slowly opened her eyes. The bed felt unfamiliar. It was comfortable, just different. As she looked around, she realized the room was much more masculine than hers.

Then she remembered that she was in House's apartment.

As her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she realized that the night before was the first time she had actually slept with a man in over fifteen years. It was strange, but not unpleasant. And she had slept really well.

She turned her head. House was snoring softly beside her. She sat up a bit to look at the clock on the table. When she saw the time, she screamed and jumped out of bed.

House lifted his head. "What the hell?"

"Do you know what time it is? It's nine o'clock! I should have been working an hour ago! Oh, my God!"

"Would you relax? I'm sure your boy Friday is taking care of everything."

"Well, of course he is, but that's not the point. I'm the Director, I'm in charge. I'm supposed to be there."

She found her cell phone and immediately hit a button. When Nathan answered, she started talking immediately. "I'm sorry, Nathan, I got delayed. What's going on? What do you need?"

"Everything's fine. Victoria. You don't have any meetings this morning. I answered all emails and phone calls for you. And I told anyone looking for you that you would be in this afternoon. Everything is under control."

She spoke to him a few more minutes before hanging up.

"Everything okay?" House asked.

She nodded, but he could se by the look no her face that she was not happy.

"What's up?"

"This is not good."

"I thought everything was okay?"

"That's not the problem. In all of my years working, I am always at my desk between and seven and eight a.m. Whether at the office or my home office, I am there and available. I know what my responsibilities are and I know I need to be there when people want to reach me. But I spend one night here and everything falls apart."

"What about when you're on vacation? Or out sick?"

"I don't take vacation and I never get sick."

"You're kidding me?"

"No."

"Why in hell would you do that?

"Because I am the first woman in my family to work with the company. It's always been the men. Even now, as hard as I've worked, they only gave me the Foundation. I want to be president or CEO of Marsden Industries. But my father and uncle don't believe a woman can do that job."

"So fuck 'em."

"What?"

"Fuck 'em. Go work for some other company that will appreciate you. Show them what they're missing. They'll be begging you to come back to their misogynistic company."

"I couldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"It's the family company. I couldn't work for another company. It would be wrong."

"Wow, you're really a rebel. You're as bad as they are."

"No, don't you see? I know I could do well with another company. It's making it to the top at Marsden that matters. Showing all the men in the family that I'm as good, hell, better than they are. It's what I've worked for. It's what I NEED to do. Can't you understand that?"

While he didn't understand or care about the corporate world, he did understand the NEED to do something. It was what ruled his life as well.

"Yeah, I understand. But if you burn yourself out, you'll never make it. There's nothing wrong with taking some time off now and then. And it sounds like your people are handling things."

"My staff is very good." She agreed.

"And my staff is very good too. Especially if you show it some attention." He smiled at her seductively.

"No, I need to go."

"Your boy said you didn't have a meeting until this afternoon. You have time."

She looked at him lying there. She thought about her job and everything that she should be doing. But Nathan sounded very calm, nothing pressing. The meeting that afternoon was routine, nothing she even had to prepare for it. It wouldn't kill her to stay an extra hour.

"I guess it wouldn't kill me to stay an extra hour." She got back into the bed.

"Now you're talking." He said as he reached for her.


	10. This Night Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Some people live with the fear of a touch…**_

Victoria walked into her apartment two hours later thinking about what had happened the night before and that morning. Spending the entire night in bed with a man was unusual. She wanted to tell herself that she didn't like it so that she could have an excuse not to do it again.

But the truth was that she'd enjoyed it. Of course the sex was great – it was always was with House. But his arm around her throughout the night was…nice. Comforting. She'd felt safe. And she'd had the best night's sleep that she'd had in a long, long time.

Which is why she'd overslept this morning. But despite her panic at first, another round with him had been very enjoyable. It put her in a nice relaxed mood for the rest of the day.

Except for the anxiety that was now beginning to hit her. She was enjoying him a bit too much. She didn't need a man to make her feel safe. She took care of herself. She always had. She couldn't start depending on someone else now. She could not.

Anita came out of the kitchen when she heard Victoria enter.

"Well, hello." The older woman said. "Did you have a nice evening? And morning?"

Victoria just gave her a look and said, "Were you concerned when I wasn't here this morning?"

"No. You told me you were going to Dr. House's last night. I figured you were still there."

"But I've never stayed all night at a man's place before. Didn't that worry you?"

"No, because it's Dr. House."

"What does that mean?"

"He wouldn't hurt you. And he's…special?"

"And what does THAT mean?"

"Oh, come on. Are you telling me he's not better than all the other guys you've known?"

Victoria was momentarily flustered. "He's – just – a-a man. Nothing different."

"Right. When are you gonna give up this game and find someone to settle down with?"

"First of all, I don't believe in 'settling down', and second, what makes you think that Greg House is a man I should do that with?"

"You should know whether he is or not. He seems like a good one to me. And why don't you believe in settling down?"

"Because love is an illusion brought on by an excess of hormones and happily ever after is only for fairy tales."

Anita shook her head. "That is the saddest thing I ever heard. I was married for twenty-seven years. I loved Joe with all of my heart."

"And where is your happily ever after?"

Anita gave her a hard look. "It was taken from me by a street punk with a stolen gun. But it had nothing to do with how we felt about each other."

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. Perhaps you were one of the very few exceptions. But in my world, it doesn't exist. People fall in love and fall out of love all the time. The only thing they have to show for it is humiliation and pain. I prefer my way better. Good sex for as long as I'm interested, then on to the next one."

"You listen to all those Billy Joel songs about love. How can you do that if you don't believe in it?"

"I watch Science Fiction movies too, but I don't believe in aliens." She turned to go to her bedroom. "Oh, and Billy Joel has been married and divorced three times. Those love songs he writes haven't helped him to find love everlasting."

"How's it going with your new girlfriend?" Wilson asked House later that day.

"Not my girlfriend. And it's fine."

"Wait, just fine?"

House nodded.

"That's it? No snarky comments? No double entendres? No sex jokes."

"Nope."

"I thought you were having terrific sex."

"I am."

"And that she didn't want anything more than that."

"That's right."

"Then what's wrong? Oh, wait, does she now want more?"

"Nope. Still just sex."

Wilson was confused. "Then you should be ecstatic. That's exactly what you've always wanted. A beautiful woman who only wants sex with no commitments, no relationship other than sex. A hooker who isn't a hooker and that you don't have to pay. Why aren't you over the moon?"

"I am."

"No, you're not." Then, as realization struck. "Oh. You want more than just sex."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do. You like her. You want a real relationship."

House frowned at him, trying to regain his sarcasm. "I like her under me. Or on top of me. Or on her knees in front of me. Or, gee, what haven't we tried yet?"

Wilson was smiling. "You like her."

"I like the sex. If I got sex from every beautiful woman I know, the world would be a nicer place." House got up and left his friend's office.

Wilson sat back with the smile still on his face. Wasn't this interesting?

**Thanks to everyone who's been commenting! Keep them coming! Hope you're all enjoying the Billy Joel songs as well.**


	11. This Night Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

_**I need your inspiration tonight**_…

A few weeks later, Victoria was relaxing alone. She'd had a hard day and had just slipped her shoes off and picked up a book when she heard a knock at her door.

At first she was concerned, but she realized with the building security, she didn't really need to worry. Still, she looked out the peephole before answering.

And saw House standing there.

She opened door and said, "Greg! Did we have plans?"

"No. I'm sorry. I was heading home and I just needed to…is it okay if I come in?"

"Of course."

She opened the door and he followed her inside. He went to the sofa in the living room and plopped down. She sat beside him and waited to see what was bothering him.

Finally she said, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I doubt it." He sighed and leaned his head back. "I have a patient. Actually, two patients. Sisters. One is dying and the other has the same thing and if I don't figure out what it is, the other will be dying too. And I can't figure out what it is."

She was silent for a moment, then said, "Well, I don't know anything about medicine, but, whenever I have a problem that I can't figure out, I walk away from it for a bit, do something else and then come back. Sometimes, the answer comes to me then."

"Well, I did walk away. What something else should I do?"

"Hmmn." She considered. "There's always this."

She leaned over and kissed him.

He pulled her close to him and whispered, "Good idea."

They didn't bother to completely undress. All they needed to do was remove enough to get the job done.

A half an hour later, they lay together on the sofa, quietly relishing the afterglow.

House was staring at a painting on the wall above them.

"Where'd you get that painting?"

She twisted her head to look at it. "Oh, I bought that at an art show. The painter is unknown and hasn't really done much. But I liked that quite a lot. It may never be worth anything, but that doesn't matter. Why? Do you like it?"

"It's nice." But he was thoughtful as he stared at it. "It sort of reminds me…"

Suddenly, he sat up and stared at the painting more intensely. Then he got off the sofa and righted his clothes.

"I gotta go."

"Is something wrong?" She asked him.

"Nope." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Thanks…for everything."

With that, he moved as quickly as he could to the door and was gone.

"Okay." She said, laying back on the sofa.


	12. This Night Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding…**_

When House stopped by the next day, Victoria wasn't surprised. It was morning and she was getting ready for work. He was obviously on his way home

"Sorry I ran out last night." He said.

"I take it you solved your mystery?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Was it the sex or the painting?"

"A little of both. The sex relaxed me and the scene in the painting reminded me of someplace I'd been and that reminded me of a disease that's common…anyway, I know you're not interested in the medicine part. I just wanted to thank you for putting up with me."

"No problem."

He hesitated. "So, I was thinking that I should thank you for helping me."

"That's not necessary."

"Sure it is. So how about if I take you out to dinner tonight?"

There was silence in the room. She didn't look at him. House waited for her to say something, but she didn't.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"Okay, well then, I guess that's my answer."

"Greg, let me explain."

"Not necessary."

"Please."

He was silent, waiting.

"I enjoy our time together, I truly do. But I really don't want it to be anything more than what it is."

"What makes you think I do?"

"Going to dinner together is…"

"Two people who enjoy our time together eating together. But it's no big deal. I'm beat, I need to go home and sleep. I'll see you later." He was out the door before she could say anything more.

She sighed and turned to see Anita standing there. The look on the woman's face prompted Victoria to ask, "What is it?"

"Nothing. None of my business anyway."

"True, it isn't any of your business."

"That's what I said." But the sour look on her face remained.

"You don't have to say it. You're going to tell me that I should go to dinner with him. After all, what's the big deal about eating together?"

Anita was silent.

"And why shouldn't I want to go out to dinner with an attractive man, especially since I'm already sleeping with him?"

Anita still didn't speak.

"You think since I don't mind sharing my bed, why not share other parts of my life?"

Anita just looked at her employer.

"You want to know why I'm so afraid to take a chance. You think I'm either afraid of love or just an unfeeling bitch."

Nothing from Anita.

"How dare you judge me! You don't understand my life. You grew up in a wonderful family. You found the love of your life when you were young. How can you know what my experience was? And I resent that you would judge me."

Victoria turned away. "I really don't want to hear anything more from you."

Anita finally spoke. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I was out of line."

She was dripping with sarcasm and Victoria looked at her again and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm acting like this."

"Well, it could be him. Or it could be the other problem."


	13. This Night Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_**But you pay for your satisfaction…**_

Victoria looked at her in amazement. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being pregnant."

Victoria was speechless. "How…What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Victoria. I do your shopping. You've put food on the list that you've never eaten and never wanted to eat. And you're throwing up that food. I know that because I clean your bathroom. And I take out your trash, so I know you haven't had your period in a while.

"I could…it could be…Maybe I'm throwing up because I'm bulimic."

Anita laughed. "You? You've never had a weight problem in your life. And you hate being sick. You'd never force yourself."

"Still…"

"I've had two children and my sisters and sisters-in-law have had so many I've lost count. I also have one and two thirds grandchildren. In my neighborhood, you figured out early who had a bun in the oven. And right now, you're Betty Crocker."

Victoria bit her lip and stared at her hands.

"How far along are you?"

"About six weeks."

Anita nodded. "I assume it's the good doctor's?"

Victoria nodded.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Anita narrowed her eyes. "You're gonna have it, aren't you?"

"Spare me your Catholic sensibilities. Whatever I decide is MY decision."

Anita was tight-lipped."

"Oh, stop it. Yes, I am going to have it."

Anita relaxed. "Well, whatever you decide about the doctor, I'm here."

"And that means…?"

"Hey, I work here. I live here. I figure, I'll be a part of the kid's life. And that's okay. I like babies. Don't get to see my grandchild as much as I'd like."

"Are you saying I don't have to hire a nanny?"

"Only if you want to. Maybe a college student part time, so that I can get some other stuff done. But I won't mind taking care of the little one."

"Well, that's good to know. Thank you."

Anita nodded and left the room.

When she was alone, Victoria walked to the window and looked out at the view of the river. She knew she would have to make a decision. The only one she was sure about was having the baby. There was no question about that. She could certainly afford to raise the child herself. But her family's reaction would complicate things. She needed to think carefully about this.

"I didn't expect to spend a Friday night with you." Wilson said as they sat together at the bar. "Aren't you usually with your high society mistress?"

"I don't think I'll be spending too much more time with her."

"I thought you were enjoying yourself."

"Yeah, well, I don't think she was enjoying it as much."

"She dumped you?"

"No. But I asked her out to dinner and she turned me down."

Wilson stared at his friend. "Wait, are you telling me that everything was fine when you were just sleeping with her, but when you asked to take her on a date, she lost interest?"

House didn't answer.

"You had what every man dreams of – a beautiful woman who only wanted sex and didn't expect you to spend money on them first. Why the hell would you ask her out?"

"Yeah, pretty stupid."

Wilson started to laugh.

"What?" House asked.

"You like her."

"You're an idiot."

"You want more than just sex with her."

"You're a romantic idiot."

Wilson erupted into peals of laughter. "I can't believe. Gregory House gets what every man dreams of and he wants what every woman dreams of."

House glared at him for a moment, then reached over and knocked his friend's beer glass over.

"Oops. Sorry, guess I don't know what every man dreams of." He said as he headed to the men's room.

"That was weak, House. She's made you lose your edge." Wilson said with a smile.


	14. This Night Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

_**I'll walk away a fool or a king…**_

"I have a proposition for you." Victoria said.

House gave her a glance. "I think you did the propositioning a few months ago. Or have you forgotten what we've been doing?"

"Not that. A different sort of proposition."

"I'm listening."

She was silent. They hadn't seen each other in over two weeks, then she called and asked him to come over. He had hesitated, thinking she was probably going to break it off. But figured, maybe there'd be some goodbye sex.

She hesitated and licked her lips. House had never seen her unsure of herself, but she was definitely nervous about this.

"Vic, what is it?"

"I would like us to get married."

He stared at her in amazement. "What did you say?'

"I would like you to marry me."

"Wait, two weeks ago I asked you to dinner and you acted like it was a major commitment. Now you want to get married. What's the deal?"

She took a deep breath, then said, "Okay, here it is: I'm pregnant."

He looked at her in shock, speechless for several moments. "What – how – I thought you were on the pill?"

"I was. Turns out, it's only 99% effective. And before you ask, I haven't been sleeping with anyone else."

"I didn't ask."

"I know." She said quietly. "I just wanted to make sure you knew that."

"Oookay. You're pregnant. You're gonna need to give me a minute to process that."

She nodded. "Of course."

He studied the rug for several moments before saying, "I guess that means you're keeping it."

"Yes, I intend to have this child and raise it."

"Okay. That doesn't mean you have to get married. This isn't 1950."

"Well, actually I do. Let me explain the situation. I want this child. I intend to have it and to raise it. I have the means to raise it by myself. But there is one problem with this.'

"Just one?"

"Yes. My family. They are old-fashioned about certain things and very conscious of the family name and reputation. If I produce a child out of wedlock, I will be blacklisted. I will have no chance of ever leading the Marsden company.

"So, as you can see, I am in a quandary. They would be thrilled for me to produce an heir, but not an illegitimate one."

"Sure." he agreed.

"So that is why I need you to marry me. It would only be for a short time. We would marry now, stay married until after the baby is born, then divorce. And I will pay you."

"Divorce is okay?"

"Oh, yes. Everyone gets divorced. My parents are divorced. More than once. They don't care about that. "

"How much?"

"What?"

"How much are you paying me?"

"One hundred thousand dollars."

"Five."

"One-fifty."

"Four."

"Two-fifty. And I am not paying you more than a quarter of a million dollars. Take it or leave it."

"What are you expecting for that?"

"We get married. We stay married until after the baby is born. Then we get divorced, you give up all rights to the child and you walk out of my life significantly richer."

"Obviously you don't want child support, but you don't want me in the kid's life at all?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, it will be easier this way. This child is to be raised a Marsden. When we divorce, I can go back to my maiden name and change my child's last name to Marsden. That will make him or her a Marsden namesake, which will significantly raise my stock with the family. Especially since my brother will never father a child."

"Why not?"

"He'd have to have sex with a woman first and that is not happening."

"Oh." House said. "Lots of gay guys pretend for the family's sake."

"Not my brother. It's bad enough that he has to stay in the closet for the family's sake, he refuses to do any more pretending."

House nodded, considering her offer. "Why me? I'm sure you know lots of guys that fit into your social circle that would marry you for that money."

"Besides the fact that you are the child's father, if I marry someone from our social circle, my family will never let me forget that I managed to ruin a marriage to that person. But all you have to do is be yourself and my family will be more than happy to see you go."

"Then why not someone really bad? A bum or something?"

"First of all, I do have to live with the person for a period of time. Second, my family would never believe that I would marry someone that unsuitable. You may be rude and arrogant, but you are a doctor. You are presentable. If you were not, well, the way you are, they would be absolutely fine with my marriage to you."

He wondered if he should feel insulted. But he knew Victoria was being, as always, brutally honest. He was rude. Most families wouldn't want him married to their daughters.

Her offer was a good one. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to stay married to her for about a year, then he was scot free. He didn't even have to worry about the kid.

"You've got a deal."

She smiled. "You won't regret it. We can be very adult about this situation and both get exactly what we want."

He nodded. She was right.

So why did he feel like he'd just sold his soul to the devil?


	15. This Night Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_**Everything revolves on what you do…**_

"The first thing we'll need to do," Victoria told him the next day, "Is meet with my family."

"Oh, great. Guess you expect me to be on my best behavior." House groaned.

"Actually, no. I expect you to be exactly as you are. It will be easier for them to understand why I would be divorcing you if you behave the way you always do."

"Stop! You're gonna make me blush."

"I've already called my parents and told them that I'm engaged and bringing my fiancé to meet them. This won't be fun, as they seldom are together, but I told them I was too busy for separate meetings."

"Why would it be separate meetings?"

"Because they're divorced and don't like to be together. And since they'll have to be together at our wedding, this will be torture – for everyone."

"Wait, our wedding. I thought that would just be a small, quick thing."

"Of course it won't. My mother has been waiting almost forty years to plan her daughter's wedding. There is no question that it will be a very elegant affair. Although she will have to do it within the next three weeks."

"Three weeks?"

"Yes, we'll be getting married in three weeks. If we wait any longer, I'll be showing and won't be able to wear a designer dress."

"Oh, that would be a tragedy. And I have a new pink taffeta that I really want to show off."

"You don't understand my family. Everything is about image. There must be a photograph of Victoria Marsden at her wedding for the society page. I must be dressed in the appropriate dress and the right people must be there. That is the way it must be."

"Why?"

"Because that's the way these people behave. Oh, and this is totally ridiculous, but my father is unbelievably old-fashioned. You will need to ask for my hand."

"Actually, you can keep your hand. There are other parts of your body I'd rather have."

"This is serious. We won't be able to make any real plans until you have officially asked my father for permission to marry me."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I assure you, I am not."

"What if he says no?"

"He won't. He has wanted me to marry for the past twenty years. And the fact that I am carrying your child is an absolute guarantee that we will marry. As I said, everything is about image for them. He needs to know that you respect him enough to ask his permission to marry his daughter."

"How can I respect him? I don't even know him."

"That doesn't matter. It's the image. Even if you don't actually respect him, you must go through the motions as though you do."

He stared at her. "Why would you play those games, Vic? You're a smart, beautiful woman. You can do anything you want. Why do you need their approval?"

"It's my family."

"So? You're almost forty years old. You don't need mommy and daddy's permission to live your life."

"You don't understand, Greg."

"No, I don't."

"And since I am not paying you a quarter of a million dollars to understand, all I expect you to is show up and do what I ask. You can still be your own annoying personality. Just be it within my world."

His blue eyes looked into hers and he shook his head. "Fine."

She blew out a breath. "Fine. Now, about the engagement ring. I've contacted my jeweler and he's sending a selection over in an hour."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll be expected to have an engagement ring."

"So you're buying your own?"

"Of course. Don't worry, I'm not deducting it from your money."

"What else have you done today?"

"Let's see." She consulted a notebook on her dressing table. "Hmm, I contacted the jeweler, my parents, Grace, – that's my maid of honor– a few of my favorite caterers. I left a message for Reverend Harwood. Oh, and speaking of Grace, she is preparing a list of the other attendants and she asked if you had a best man and anyone else you wanted in the wedding party."

The look on his face was murderous. "Yes, I have a best man. No, I don't have anyone else."

Victoria made a note and said, "Fine, fine. I'll tell her to find the other groomsmen from among our family and friends." She looked up at him, "Your best man? He is presentable, correct?"

"Presentable? Well, if you consider a transvestite serial killer presentable, then, yes."

She stared at him, then said, "You are joking, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Does the head of Oncology at the hospital meet your standards?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's fine. Okay, so we'll go down to Philadelphia this weekend so that they can meet you. It will also be a good time for you to meet with Daddy's tailor."

"Do I have to ask him for your hand as well? Boy, you people really are into image."

"No, he needs to measure you for your wedding suit."

"I have a suit. And I have a tux. You undid it at the dinner."

"Your tuxedo was…nice, but it was really not as well tailored as it should be. Dante is a marvel. He can measure you and we can select the fabric, then he can get started on it. I may have him make you a few suits. After all, there will be some other events you'll need to attend with me. Don't worry, I'll pay for the suits."

House was beginning to feel like a puppet being directed by this woman. Not that he wanted to pay for a diamond ring or that he minded her buying him a few suits, but things were starting to spiral out of control.

"No." he said.

"No? No what?"

"You need to stop right there. Before we go any further with this gig, I need to set some rules."

"What sort of rules? This is my operation. You are getting paid to do as I say."

"No. I'm getting paid to be your husband for a few months or whatever. I'm not getting paid to do as you say."

"You—"

"No. These are my terms for this 'marriage'. We will be living together, I presume?"

She nodded.

"Fine. Then we'll be sharing your bedroom. Clean out a few drawers for me."

She opened her mouth to answer, but he interrupted. "That's not negotiable. I'm not sleeping in the guest room. Besides, if you want everyone to believe this marriage is real, we need to be sharing a room. That means I sleep in your room, all night, every night."

Her look was murderous, but she nodded, reluctantly.

"And then there's the question of sex."

"What about it?"

"Are we still having it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does. That's one thing we know we're good at. And I don't intend to go without sex for the duration of our marriage. So unless you want me to get it somewhere else, we'll be having sex."

She was thoughtful. "Of course, if you did cheat, it would lend to the reasons I would divorce you."

He shook his head. "No. I know I'm a jerk, but you are not going to paint me as a jerk that would cheat on his pregnant wife."

She sighed, then nodded. "I guess you're right."

"So, sex?"

"Why not? We've been doing it all of this time. And you're right, we are good at it."

"Okay. So I move in here. What are my rights?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just because you're paying me, I'm not your servant. When I move in, I'm your husband and partner as far as everyone knows. That includes the other servants."

She considered this. "You will have the right to be an equal partner here for as long as you are here. I don't expect you to abuse the servants, though."

"Damn, I was going to start beating Anita if she didn't serve me breakfast in bed. I'll have to return the whip."

"You know what I mean."

"Relax. I like Anita. It'll be nice to have a housekeeper around, but I'm not going to treat her like shit."

She nodded again and they were both silent. Finally, she said, "Greg, I really do appreciate this. I realize this is out of your comfort zone."

"Yeah, well, a two hundred and fifty thou is definitely in my comfort zone."

She smiled at him. "Alright, then. You need to be ready by noon on Saturday. I can guarantee you that meeting my family will be out of your comfort zone."


	16. This Night Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

**_You had to have a white hot spotlight…_**

She picked him up in her brand new Lexus convertible. He threw his bag in the back seat and got in beside her.

"Sweet ride." He said.

"Thanks. Alright, now I'm going to give you the information on my family while we drive there."

"What time are we meeting your folks?"

"Seven."

He gave her a look. "So why are we leaving so early?"

"Well, we have the appointment with the tailor at three. And we're meeting my brother for drinks at five-thirty."

"Isn't he coming to dinner?"

"Oh, Lord, no. He avoids our parents as much as he possibly can."

"Do they know that he bats for the other team?"

"Not consciously. I believe that they are aware, but as long as the words are never spoken, they don't have to face it. Remember, they are all about image."

"Your parents sound like lovely people." He said sarcastically.

"I told you, it's all for image. They grew up in the same circles and married each other young. Stayed married for about fifteen years. Of course, in between, Dad fooled around with other women. He only divorced mother when his mistress ended up pregnant and threatened to make things difficult for him. So they divorced and he married her."

"So you have another sibling?"

She shook her head. "No. Turns out she was pregnant by someone else. When my father found out, he divorced her and cut them both off. He married another trophy wife a few years later, but that didn't last. The current one is ten years younger than I and dumb as a stump. But she takes care of him, so we put up with her."

"Wow." House was amazed. "What about your mother?"

"She married a younger man a few years after Daddy left. But she kicked him out when she realized he was a gigolo and was showing way too much interest in me."

"How old were you?"

"Sixteen."

"How old was he?"

"Thirty."

"Pervert.'

"Don't worry, he did not get very far. I have never been stupid. Or weak."

He glanced at her. There were layers to this woman that he was just starting to get to know. He wondered once again if he should be doing this – marrying her with the intention of divorcing. Wouldn't that ruin the chance of anything real happening between them?

Victoria was speaking again. "My uncle will also be there, my father's brother. Who is also Grace's father."

"Grace?"

"Grace, my maid of honor. Also my first cousin, surrogate sister and best friend in the world."

"So she'll be there too?"

"No, we'll go to her home for brunch on Sunday. She and her father are usually at outs. But Uncle Leland will be there with his 'friend'."

"Uh-oh, is Uncle Leland…" he made a motion with his hand, "…too?"

"Oh, no. Uncle Leland and Doris have been together for years. But her husband won't give her a divorce. So they tell everyone that they're 'friends'. And everyone is supposed to pretend that that's what they believe."

House laughed grimly. "Your family really sounds like gems."

"I told you, it's all about image."

"Do any of you actually WANT to be with the others?"

"Who actually wants to be with their families? I adore Grace and always want to be with her. I love my brother and don't mind being with him, unless he's in a pissy mood. Other than that, no, I don't want to be with them and they probably don't really want to be with me. I didn't marry and produce children at a young age, so they are disappointed in me."

"Well, I guess you'll redeem yourself now."

"Hopefully."

"So are we staying with your family?"

"Lord, no! The company always keeps a suite available at the Bellevue. We'll be using that."

"At the Bellevue Stratford? Yes!"

"Actually, these days it's called the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, but no one in my family will ever call it anything other than the Bellevue. My great grandfather was a friend of George Boldt, the first owner. Our family has always maintained a suite there, except for the years when it was closed."

"Yeah, I know about it. God, I read everything about it in '76 when the disease happened. It was great!"

"It was not great. It was a blemish on the city and it destroyed a beautiful hotel. They almost demolished that wonderful building. And you had to be little more than a child at the time."

"It was the summer before my senior year in high school and I already knew I wanted to be a doctor, so this story was right up my alley."

The 'story' House was referring to was the time in 1976 when the American Legion held their statewide convention in Philadelphia and stayed at the Bellevue. Tragedy struck when one by one, the conventioneers began getting sick and thirty-four of them died before the disease was identified.

In 1977, a doctor finally found a new bacterium that had caused the illness. The bacterium was named Legionella and the disease legionellosis or, more commonly, Legionnaire's Disease.

"But the case was interesting. The bacteria was found in the cooling water of the air conditioning system. That's what caused the disease. It was really cool."

"It was devastating." She turned to look at him. "But I can see that someone like you would find it fascinating."

They pulled up to the hotel, a beautiful 19th century building in the heart of the city and a doorman opened her car door for her.

"Welcome back, Ms Marsden, we've missed you."

"Thank you Timothy." She stepped out of the car, while a bellman unloaded their bags. She walked to the front desk, House trailing leisurely behind her.

After checking in and receiving their keys, they went to their room, one of the Bellevue Suites.

It was an 831 square foot space, with a separate sitting room and a bedroom with a king sized bed. House sat on the bed, and enjoyed the feel of the goose down duvet and pillow top mattress.

He went to relive himself and saw the beautiful marble bath. This was living in style. He could really get used to this. The thought that he was marrying into wealth was exciting, but of course it was only temporary.

And that was a little depressing.

**A/N: If anyone wants to see what the hotel looks like, take a look here:** .


	17. This Night Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

_**All you need are looks and a whole lotta money…**_

"We have time for lunch before we go to the tailor. Would you like room service?"

"Sure. Why not?" House said as he leaned back on the luxurious bed.

She handed him a menu and after perusing it, told her he wanted a Philly cheesesteak.

She rolled her eyes. "Why in the world would you order that at a five star hotel? They have a world class chef here."

"Well, let's see if he can make a world class cheesesteak."

She just shook her head and placed his order, along with her own for a Caesar salad.

At five minutes to three, they were on 6th Street and walking into a tailor shop, Dante's.

Dante DiMarco was a small, white-haired man of about seventy with a kind face and glasses who greeted her warmly.

"Miss Marsden! How good to see you. And you've brought your fiancé here. So wonderful."

"Dante, this Dr. House. He'll need a dark gray suit for our wedding. We'd also like a navy blue and a black one. Plus a sports jacket. Will you be able to handle all of that and how quickly can be they be ready?"

"No problem. I've been suiting your family my entire career and my father before me. Do you think I would disappoint you? I can have at least one ready within a week and the others soon after. Will that be alright?"

"Yes, fine. Do you have anything on the rack that you could do for tonight?"

"Hey!" House said, "I have a jacket for tonight."

"Yes, I saw it." She told him, then turned back to Dante. "What do you think?"

"I'm sure I do. Dr. House doesn't look too hard to fit. Let's get some measurements."

He pulled House into the dressing room. Victoria started to follow, but House stopped her.

"I think I can take this from here."

She looked annoyed, but stayed in the outer room.

In the dressing room, Dante asked House to strip down so that he could measure him, then he started to work with his tape measure, writing everything down. When he was done, he looked at House.

"Which side do you dress to?"

"What? Oh, you mean…uh, to the left."

"Fine. You are a very fit man, Dr. House. It won't be hard to suit you at all."

"Cool."

"Let's go and look at fabrics."

House got dressed and left the dressing room. Victoria popped up when she saw them. They spent the next twenty minutes selecting the fabric for the suits and sport jacket. House had very little input. As far as he was concerned, a suit was a suit. Just because she was springing for custom made ones didn't really make a difference to him. Then Dante went to his small rack of jackets and selected a navy wool blazer and asked House to slip it on.

He did and Victoria said, "Oh, yes, that is very nice."

House realized the cuffs were not hemmed. Dante immediately turned them up and marked them with his tailor's chalk. Then he retrieved a pair of gray wool trousers and asked House to go the dressing room to put them on. They were also not hemmed.

They fit as far as he could see, but Dante worked with his chalk again until it was perfect.

"Can you have it ready and sent to the Bellevue by five?"

"Of course. Will you need a tie?"

"Yes." Victoria said.

"No." House said.

"You will be wearing a new, beautiful blazer. You need to have a new silk tie."

House rolled his eyes, but allowed the tailor to bring out several ties, before Victoria selected one, along with a white shirt. Dante promised to have them delivered to the hotel.

House and Victoria left the tailor shop and returned to the hotel. It was almost four o'clock. House sat on the sofa, kicked off his shoes and turned on the TV.

Victoria watched him for a moment, then went to the bedroom. She got undressed and slipped on her silk robe, then laid on the bed, thinking about the evening to come. Meeting with her brother was fine. She got along with him. And brunch with Grace on Sunday would be good too.

It was the evening's dinner with her parents that worried her. At least this time, she'd be able to avoid the criticism about not being married, since she was bringing a fiancé with her. She hadn't told them yet about the baby and wasn't sure if she should do so now or wait. She decided to play it by ear and see how things progressed.

But she was still nervous. And if she greeted her parents like that, she'd never be able to pull this off.

There was only one thing that calmed her nerves.

She went back to the parlor where House was still watching TV.

"Greg." She said with a small smile. "Do you really want to be watching television when there is this gorgeous king sized bed sitting here unused?"

He looked up at her and saw the seductive smile. Damn! He thought. Marrying a woman like this would not be a hardship. He turned off the TV and limped into the bedroom behind her

She was already on the bed when he got there, her robe falling open and her breasts showing. He limped over, removing his own clothes as he did so. She sat up and kissed him. He pulled her to him and then pulled back.

"Get me started." He told her.

She complied by using her hand and then her mouth on his cock. Once he was fully erect, he pulled back again.

"On your knees." He whispered.

She smiled and slipped the robe off, then turned and knelt on the bed. He came up behind her and reached to caress her, but she was already wet. He slid his cock inside and she let out a sigh. The next minutes consisted of him pumping into her and her moaning in pleasure. Finally, as they both began the final ascent, he thrust harder and she cried out. He followed right behind her and then they both collapsed on the bed.

As they lay there catching their breath, he said, "Are you sure we have to go see your parents?"

"What?" she asked him.

"Well, we could just stay here and do this all night."

She smiled at him, but said, "Sorry, as appealing as that sounds, neither one of us gets out of this that easily."


	18. This Night Chapter 17

_**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Here's a nice long chapter to celebrate the beginning of a new year and a new decade. Thanks to everyone who has put this on alert, made it a favorite or taken the time to adda review. i really love all of you!**_

_**Chapter 17**_

_**She's been living in her uptown world…**_

At five-thirty precisely, House and Victoria stepped off the elevator on the 23rd floor of a high-rise apartment building on Philadelphia's historic Rittenhouse Square. They stepped into a bright living room with windows overlooking the city skyline. The man that greeted them had dark hair like Victoria's, but his eyes were dark brown as well. The hair was artfully tousled and he wore jeans and a button down shirt. But the jeans were well-made, as was the shirt.

"Aren't we casual tonight?" Victoria asked him.

"My parties don't begin until MUCH later on Saturday nights. I'll be getting dressed after you leave."

Victoria smiled at her brother, then introduced him to House. "Greg, this is my brother Andrew, better known as Drew. Drew, my fiancé Dr. Greg House."

Drew held out his hand and House took his hand.

"A pleasure, Doctor."

"Right." House replied. "And it's House or Greg."

"Oh, we haven't had a doctor in the family – I don't think ever. I'm going to revel in this."

He led them inside the beautifully decorated condo.

"What would you like to drink, Doctor?"

"Scotch?"

"Of course. Your usual, Tori?"

"Yes." Then she remembered her condition and said, "On second thought, how about a mineral water?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Mineral water?"

"I still have to negotiate the Schuylkill and I'd rather do that with a clear head."

He walked over to the bar against one wall, got the drinks and returned to his guests.

"So, Tori, nervous about this evening?"

"Why should I be?" she answered casually.

Her brother laughed and turned to House. "If she isn't nervous, that means the two of you put your hotel room to good use."

Victoria glared at him, but House tried – unsuccessfully – to hide a smile.

"Sounds like you know your sister."

"Oh, yes. Doctor, I assume Tori has told you of my sexual preferences?"

House glanced at him and nodded.

"Will it bother you to have a brother-in-law who's gay?"

"Not unless you start hitting on me."

"Not unless you want me to."

"Then we won't have a problem."

"However, the rest of my family is blissfully unaware of the situation."

"You really believe that?" House asked him.

"I have to. And I'd like to keep it that way."

"They won't hear it from me."

"Good."

They spent the next forty minutes chatting. House found that Drew was smart and funny and he would have enjoyed the evening even more if brother and sister didn't snipe at each other. Most of it was in fun, but there was a layer there that was not.

When they finally left, House looked at her and asked, "Are you sure you get along with your brother?"

"Of course I do. Why would you ask that?"

"Seems like you guys do a lot of fighting with each other."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No."

"Then you don't understand. It's just teasing."

"Yeah, so you say."

She gave him a look, then changed the subject. "We need to get on the road immediately. It should only take us about twenty minutes, but sometimes the Schuylkill Expressway is backed up. Even on Saturday. So we need to go."

"Sure."

They retrieved her car from the hotel and within minutes were on the expressway. She was right, the road was busy even on a Saturday. But eventually they were driving down the beautiful tree-lined road in Merion and up a winding driveway to a beautiful brick mansion.

"Holy cow!" House said. "Your family lives here?"

"Right now, just my mother and her elderly aunt. And of course the staff. But it's the family home, so of course she won't leave. Also, if she leaves, she can't sell it, my father gets it and she does not want to see him living here with his fourth wife. So she'll stay until she dies."

House just rolled his eyes at the antics of these people.

When they pulled up, she left the car in front of the house and strolled up the steps to the front door. It was immediately opened by a woman in an obvious housekeeper uniform.

She greeted Victoria. "Hello, Miss Victoria. Welcome home."

"Thank you, Iris. This is my fiancé, Dr. House."

Iris nodded to him, "It's very nice to meet you, Dr. House. And congratulations to both of you."

"Thank you. Is my mother in the parlor?"

"Yes. As well as your father, your uncle, your stepmother and Mrs. Bates."

Victoria took House by the arm. "Well, it looks like the show is about to begin."

"How big is this place?" House asked.

"The house is over 8000 square feet and the lot is about an acre and a half."

"Wow." House was dutifully impressed. They walked down a small hallway to a parlor

They entered a parlor filled with elegant and expensive furnishings, mostly antiques. Between the value of the house and property and the furnishings, this place was worth a small, no, make that, large fortune.

The people in the parlor were also obviously wealthy. The women were seated on sofas and chairs, though none of them next to each other. The two men were standing by the fireplace, chatting quietly. All five people looked up when Victoria and House entered.

"There she is." One of the women said.

Victoria took a deep breath and managed a smile. "Hello. I'm so sorry we were delayed. You know how the expressway can be."

They all nodded and Victoria said, "Well, anyway, I would like all of you to meet my fiancé, Dr. Gregory House."

Five pairs of eyes studied him.

"Greg," Victoria said, "I'd like you to meet my family."

She made the introductions. Her mother, Ruth Marsden, was an elegant woman with salt and pepper hair. House guessed her age to be mid-sixties, although she wore it very well.

Her father, Howard Marsden, was a distinguished looking man of about seventy. He was dressed in a very expensive suit that still somehow managed to look casual.

His wife, Nikki, was in her thirties, blonde and wearing a dress that was much too short for the occasion. Not that House minded the long sexy legs or cleavage on display. But he saw the looks the other women were sending her way.

The other man in the room was Victoria's Uncle Leland, a man who resembled her father and was dressed almost identically, though in a different colored suit.

The woman beside him was about ten years younger than him, pleasant looking, with light brown hair. Her name was Doris Bates and she was Leland Marsden's "friend".

"Nice to meet you." House told them all.

"Please sit down, Dr. House." Ruth patted the seat beside her on the sofa. He looked at Victoria, who nodded almost imperceptivity. He limped over to the safe and sat beside her.

"Would you like a drink, Dr. House?" He father asked. House asked for a scotch and was soon holding a crystal glass in his hand.

Victoria poured herself a glass of mineral water and sat opposite him, next to Helen.

"So, Dr. House -- or may I call you Gregory?" Ruth said.

"Actually, it's Greg."

"I prefer Gregory. I had an Uncle Gregory of whom I was very fond. So, Gregory, are your parents alive?"

House resisted rolling his eyes and answered, "My mother is. My father died last year."

Victoria stared at him. Why didn't she know this?

"And what did your father do?" Howard asked.

Other than act like a jerk, House wanted to ask, but instead told him, "He was a marine pilot."

"Officer?"

House nodded. "A colonel when he died."

Her father seemed satisfied by this. But then he stared pointedly at House and said, "Do we need to talk, Greg?"

House glanced at Victoria who nodded and he held back the curse he wanted to use, instead saying, "Sure. Let's do it."

Howard led them out of the parlor and into a room that was obviously a library, with shelves of books that House doubted anyone in this place had actually read.

Howard sat in one of the leather chairs and looked at him. "So, Greg."

"Yeah, so, uh, Vic-toria and I want to get married."

Howard nodded. "And?"

House just couldn't do it. He couldn't play this game. "Look, we both know why we're in this room. I want to marry her and you want me to ask your permission. Well, the thing is she's almost forty and she's pregnant. So we're going to get married. And I don't think you want to stop that. So as far as your homies out there know, we came in here and I went all humble and said, 'can I please have your daughter's hand' and you got all fatherly, patted me on the back and said, 'of course, son, just take care of her.' So now we're past that part and everyone can save face."

Howard Marsden's face was murderous. "Do you think this is a game?"

"Yes, it is a game. A game where you pretend that your daughter is a shy eighteen-year-old debutante instead of the smart and independent woman she is. You're lucky she cares enough about your feelings to ask me to go through this ritual. But I think we're finished. So, let's just got back to the others with smiles on our faces."

Howard glared at him some more, then rose and opened the library door. House followed him out and they entered the parlor. Victoria tried to gauge the emotion between them, when her father spoke.

"Congratulations, Tori. Greg told me the wonderful news."

"News?" Ruth asked. "What news?"

Victoria smiled and said, "We were waiting until we got here. I guess Greg couldn't hold it in. I'm pregnant."

There was silence from everyone in the room.

Iris came into the room and announced that dinner was served. They moved into the dining room and took their seats. Ruth was at the head of the table and House was seated next to her. Nikki Marsden was on his right, with Howard at the other end. Victoria was next to him and on her right was Doris, with Leland opposite House and next to Ruth.

Once wine had been served to everyone except Victoria, and the first course was in front of them, the conversation returned to Victoria's pregnancy.

Her mother spoke first. "Well, at last there will be a grandchild in this family."

Her father added, "Not good planning on your part though, Victoria."

"It wasn't planned, but we're very excited and just moved up plans we were already making to marry."

Silence again, then everyone started chatting. Howard turned to House.

"So, you are a medical doctor, Greg?"

"Daddy, Greg is the head of the Diagnostics Department at Princeton Plainsboro Hospital." Victoria told him.

"Does that pay well?"

"What difference does that make?"

"He has to take care of a family now."

"Daddy, I have a job. We won't be living on Greg's salary."

Howard looked down at his plate and didn't speak, but Ruth did.

"Dear, are you sure you're going to want to continue with your position after you have your baby?" Ruth asked.

"Why wouldn't she?" Nikki Marsden said. Everyone looked at her in surprise. She wasn't known for joining in on these discussions. "After all, she doesn't have to work, but she does and she works hard. So she must like it. If she likes it, why shouldn't she do it?"

Victoria smiled at her. She had never really liked her stepmother, who was several years her junior, until this moment.

"Well, after all, a child needs its mother to be there." Ruth said.

"Mother, you didn't work and I still saw the nanny much more than I ever saw you."

"But I was there if you needed me."

"Yes, in between your charity events and lunches and tennis games with your friends. Daddy, I will be continuing with my position as Director of the Foundation and unless you're unhappy with my performance as such, I assume I will continue to be employed there."

"If that's what you want, Tori."

"That's what I want."

Everyone was silent again, and in an attempt to make the subject more pleasant, Doris finally spoke, "So tell us how the two of you met."

"Well, it was the night of the dinner announcing my promotion to Director. Princeton Plainsboro is one of our new beneficiaries and all of the department heads attended. That's where I met Greg."

"Don't let her fool you." House said. "I saw her across the room. I didn't even know who she was except that she was the most beautiful woman there. We ended up on the terrace where we got to know each other a lot better."

Victoria smothered a grin at his choice of words, then added, "Since I had just moved to Princeton, we connected afterwards and have been seeing each other ever since."

"Oh, how nice." Doris said.

Uncle Leland spoke up now. "What exactly is 'Diagnostics"? I know cardiology and such, but I haven't heard of that."

House was about to speak, but Victoria intercepted him. "Greg only sees the patients that no other doctor is able to cure. The ones with unusual symptoms, facing probable death."

"Are there a lot of people like that?"

"Thankfully, no." House said. "One patient about every other week or every week if I'm not lucky."

"But if you were another specialty, you could treat more patients and probably make more money."

"I make enough money. And I don't have to work too hard to do it."

"Daddy, Greg is world-renowned. People come from everywhere to be treated by him. And he's brought the hospital a great deal in both contributions and respect."

Her family nodded at that, apparently appeased by the fact that he was not just a doctor, but a famous doctor. House looked at his fiancée and shook his head slightly. These people were annoying.

The rest of the dinner progressed in much the same way, with Victoria's family taking small swipes at each other whenever they could. The anger and bitterness between her parents was plain to see, as well as her mother's resentment of Nikki.

As soon as dessert was finished, Victoria, feigning fatigue, excused herself and House and they left.

In the car, she sighed a breath of relief. "Thank goodness, that's over. Hopefully, we won't have to see them again until the wedding. I think I convinced my mother not to hold an engagement party, since it will be only three weeks until the wedding."

House had dealt with a lot of bullshit from his father. But his mother at least had tried to soften everything and bring them together. And the thing about his father, everything he said to House, everything he expected of him, he truly believed, out of that strict moral code of his.

These people were all for show. He didn't believe any of them really meant anything they said. He was going to tell Victoria just that, but she interrupted him, mid-thought.

"Why didn't I know anything about your family?" she asked. "Why didn't I know your father died last year?"

"You never asked." He said simply.

"That's true." She agreed, "We haven't really done a lot of talking, have we? Is there anything else I should know?"

He hesitated. "Yeah, you should probably know this. Especially since your father looks the type that's gonna check me out and he'll probably find out anyway. I spent a few months in a psychiatric hospital this past summer."

"You did? Whatever for?"

"I was addicted to prescription painkillers for my leg and I started having hallucinations. I had to de-tox from the pills and deal with some issues."

"Did you?"

"Which?"

"Both."

"Yeah. I've found non-narcotic ways to deal with the pain and I'm continuing to deal with the 'issues'".

"Good, then no problem."

"That's not going to upset your family?"

"Everyone in my family has been in therapy. You get your first appointment with the therapist for your sixteenth birthday, along with a car."

House smiled. "What about actually being in the loony bin?"

"We were close friends with the DuPont family. They built that hospital to deal with their 'special' relatives. While we didn't need an entire hospital, we could populate a small wing of one."

House smiled again. "But does it bother you? After all, your kid could be as crazy as its father."

"My child will already have inherited enough craziness from my family. Anything you contribute would be a drop in the bucket."

They returned to the hotel and even though, Victoria was tired, she was also wound up. However, another bout of sex soon relaxed her and allowed her to fall asleep.

House lay there for a bit, thinking about this woman he was marrying, albeit for a short time. She was smart and beautiful, and yet entirely influenced by her image conscious family. If she would ever let go and be herself, she would be a terrific person.

But since he wouldn't be in her life very long, it wasn't his place to say anything.

**A/N: Sorry that the link didn't work in my previous chapter. If anyone is interested in seeing the hotel that they're staying at, try doing a search for the Park Philadelphia Hyatt at the Bellevue. It's really a beautiful hotel that was, thankfully, saved from destruction.**


	19. This Night Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

_**I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints…**_

The next morning, House and Victoria slept in, then made their way to Grace's house at Sixth and Pine. It was a lovely townhouse with a garden.

Grace greeted Victoria warmly, then turned to eye House.

"Grace, this is my fiancé, Greg House." Victoria told her.

"Hi." House said.

Grace eyed him from head to toe and smiled. "Greg, it's lovely to meet you. Victoria has told me about you, but meeting you is indeed a pleasure."

Then she looked at Victoria and said, "Definitely yummy."

House frowned at her. "Yummy?"

She laughed. "Don't worry. That's just silly girl talk. I'm really not that shallow. Please come in and sit down. Brunch is ready and I really want to get to know you."

They followed her to the breakfast room where the table was set with cheerfully colored plates and napkins. It was right by glass doors that looked out on the garden.

"I hope you don't mind if we eat here. This is my favorite place to have Sunday brunch."

"Fine with me." House said, as he sat down and grabbed a croissant from a plate.

Grace's housekeeper came out with a carafe of coffee.

"That's fine, Judith." Grace said. "Just leave it and bring out the eggs. Then you can leave. And thank you for doing this."

"No problem, Miss Grace. And congratulations, Miss Victoria."

"Thank you, Judith."

The woman left, but returned a moment later with a platter which she sat on the table. After she was gone, the three of them poured coffee and served themselves food.

Grace turned to Victoria. "So how did last night go?"

Victoria sighed. "About as expected. Everyone was their same pompous selves."

"I know, but what can you do?"

House looked at both of them and said, "You can not worry about them."

"What?" Both women said.

"I just don't get it. You're both intelligent women with your own homes and money, I presume. Why do you care what your family thinks?"

They stared at him as if he was insane.

"You don't understand our family, Greg." Grace said. "You must preserve the image if you are going to succeed."

"Bullshit." He said.

The two women just smiled at each other as if to say, he'll never understand and House just shook his head and kept eating.

They shared some small talk as they ate. As they finished, Grace looked at her cousin and said, "You should really see the new paint in my master bathroom."

"Why?" Victoria asked.

"Because it's lovely, of course."

"Uh huh. Fine, I'll go check out the paint. How long do you want me to check it out for?"

"Oh, about ten minutes should do it."

Victoria left the room and House turned to Grace, a confused look on his face.

"She knows I want to talk to you in private."

"What about?"

"About my cousin. I'm sure you know by now that she's a very different type of woman."

"Yeah, I do. I guess you're here to warn me not to hurt her."

"Let me be honest with you. I know that the two of you are only marrying because of the baby. But that doesn't mean that something can't happen between you and that feelings won't be involved."

He sat back and wondered exactly how much Victoria had told her. He didn't want to reveal anything that his fiancée didn't want revealed, so he didn't say anything.

"Don't be fooled, Greg. She's much more vulnerable than anyone would believe. She hides it with her cool sophistication, but in reality she's afraid of love and the pain it can cause."

"And you think I'm going to bring her pain."

"I don't know you well enough to say. But if she does fall in love with you, you certainly could."

"And she do the same thing to me."

"Oh, yes, she's more than capable of doing that! But one thing I know for sure, she wants this child very much, so she will do all she can to make that happen."

He nodded, as he realized the truth of that. Victoria was jumping through hoops for her family so that her child would be accepted in her world.

They heard Victoria's footsteps and also her voice from the other room call out, "I'm coming back. You can stop talking about me now."

Grace sat back with a smile.

"So did you tell Greg all of my past indiscretions?" Victoria asked as she sat down again.

"No, she didn't." House said, "But I'd like to know some of them."

Grace giggled. "Remember that time at school when we were caught smoking?"

"Lord, yes! Of course I do!"

"How old were you?" House asked.

"Twelve and thirteen." Victoria said. "We thought we'd found the perfect place to hide, but of course the principal found us and suspended us for three days."

"And called both of our fathers to come and get us."

"Uh-oh. What did they do?"

Victoria smirked. "Lectured us all the way home about how we were disgracing the family name by being suspended."

"And the lectures continued for the next week. Even after we went back to school."

House was confused. "Didn't you get punished?"

"No. Just the lecture. Nothing about how we'd broken the rules. Nothing about how smoking would harm our health." There was bitterness in Victoria's voice.

"We were often reminded of how we disgraced them that day." Grace added.

"Yeah, well, obviously the lecture didn't stop you from smoking." House said to Grace.

"What are you saying?"

"You're still smoking. The nicotine stains on your fingers are a dead giveaway. Especially since your nails are perfectly manicured. You've also gone to extra trouble to cover the scent of the smoke in the house."

Grace looked sheepish as Victoria said, "Gracie, you promised me!"

"I know, I know. It's just too hard to stop."

"Greg, tell her how dangerous it is."

"She knows that. She'd have to be an idiot not to. If she still wants to do it, warning her about it killing her won't stop her."

"I really have no other vices." Grace said with a smile.

"HAH!" Victoria said. "We both know better than that."

When brunch was over, Victoria and House took their leave. They returned to the hotel and checked out, and were soon on their way back to Princeton.

"Does she know about our 'arrangement'" House asked.

"No."

"She knows we're getting married for the baby."

"Well, of course she does. She knows me too well and would never believe that I was madly in love that quickly. But she doesn't know that I'm paying you."

House nodded.

"By the way," Victoria said, "My mother had the wedding invitations done. She's messengering them to me on Monday. How many will you need?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, other than your best man, who will you be inviting?"

"No one." Then a thought came to him. "Wait, I want to invite Cuddy."

"Your boss? Why?"

"She's gonna shit a brick when she finds out we're getting married."

"Whatever you'd like. What about your mother?"

"No way."

"You're not inviting your mother to your wedding?"

"It's not a real marriage. And it's better if she doesn't find out about the baby. She'll only be upset when I walk away from you the kid."

"That's your choice. I'll have the invitations for you tomorrow evening."

"Fine."


	20. This Night Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

_**And the only people I fear are those who never have doubts…**_

On Tuesday morning, House wandered into Wilson's office and tossed a creamy white envelope on his desk.

"House, I have a lot of appointments today. I don't have time for this." Wilson said, shoving the envelope back towards him.

"Just open it." House said with a smirk.

Sighing, Wilson opened the envelope. His eyes went wide as he read the words engraved on the elegant paper:

_Mrs. Ruth Marsden_

_and_

_Mr. Howard Marsden_

_Request your presence at the marriage_

_of their daughter_

_Victoria Helene Marsden_

_to_

_Gregory House, M.D._

_On Saturday…_

"Wait, you're getting married? I thought you broke up with her?"

"Apparently not."

"She refused to go out to dinner with you, but she's going to marry you? How in the hell did you manage that?"

"I knocked her up."

"She's pregnant?"

"That's usually what that means."

"Oh my God! House, are you sure about this?"

"I figured you'd be glad. I'm getting married and having a kid. All that settling down stuff you like."

"You don't even know her that well. Now you're having a baby and marrying her. This won't end well."

"Gee, thanks for your support. I guess that means you don't want to be my best man? I guess I can ask the janitor."

Wilson looked at his friend for a moment. He knew this was not the best idea, but there was no way he wasn't going to support him.

"Do you really want me to be your best man?"

House started to say something sarcastic, but then stopped and just nodded.

"I'd be honored."

A few minutes later, House limped his way into Cuddy's office.

She looked up briefly from her paperwork and then back again.

"I don't care what it is today, House, I don't have the time to deal with it. So you can just put it on hold and I'll get back to you sometime in the future. Try me in a year or two."

"Well, I thought you might be interested in this. But if you don't want to go to a social event with the Marsden family, then…'

Her head shot up. "What are you talking about? What do you have to do with the Marsdens?"

He held out the invitation. She took it from him, and pulled the card out of the envelope.

She grew faint as she read the words. "What…How…you…you and Victoria Marsden? It can't be. She's an elegant, sophisticated woman."

He gave her a hard look. "So what's she doing with me? Guess she enjoys slumming. You should understand that."

She glared at him, then said, "No! You cannot do this, House! I can tell you exactly what will happen. You'll screw this up and she'll be mad and take her money from the hospital. It will be Vogler all over again."

"It's nothing like Vogler! I never slept with him. He just wasn't my type."

She let out a breath. "And now that the wedding is planned, you can't stop it. It's going to be a mess."

"Well, I guess that means you're not coming." He reached out to pull the invitation out of her hand, but she snatched it back.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world." She filled out the response card and handed it back to him.

He glared at her this time and left her office.

Somehow neither of those confrontations were as satisfying as he thought they'd be. Everyone was sure he was going to screw this up. What would they say if they knew he was being paid to screw it up?

He wasn't sure he wanted the answer to that.


	21. This Night Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

_**I'm a man with so much tension, far too many sins to mention…**_

Victoria was finishing up her work on Thursday afternoon, when House burst into her home office.

"What the hell did you do?" he blasted her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you! I told you what I wanted and why and you ignored me!" He continued to shout.

"Greg, you need to calm down and tell me what's wrong."

"This is bullshit! Complete bullshit! Is that what this deal is going to be? I tell you something and you ignore it and do whatever the hell you want? If that's what's happening, we can call it off right now, because I'm not putting up with this bullshit!"

Victoria folded her arms and stared at him, while he continued to rant and rave. When he finally stopped and took a breath, she said, "Now can you tell me what this is about?"

"You invited my mother to the wedding!"

"I did not."

"My mother called me today. She's so happy to find out I'm getting married, but why didn't I call her myself to tell her?"

"Oh, Lord."

"So you did do it!"

"No, that would be my mother. I gave her the guest list that I have and when she didn't see your mother's name, she most likely just took it upon herself to send her an invitation."

"How'd she get her address?"

"Marsden Industries has a pack of investigators on staff. They can find anything they want. I'm really sorry, Greg. I know you didn't want her to find out."

"The worst part is that she's probably gonna find out about the baby. And when I walk away from it, she's never gonna forgive me."

Victoria looked contrite. "Why don't you blame it on me when it happens? Tell her I had some high-priced lawyers and you lost rights to the child."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"I really am sorry."

"Yeah, well, the shit's gonna hit the fan. Nothing I can do about it." He was silent and brooded about it for a bit. Then remembering something else he wanted to tell her, said, "Oh, by the way, Wilson wants to take me out for a bachelor party next weekend."

"Oh, good. That will work perfectly. Grace wants me to come down. She's inviting some of our school friends for a shower slash bachelorette party."

"What? Male strippers?"

"Knowing Grace, probably. But as I don't really need shower gifts, it will probably consist of naughty lingerie."

"Really?" House was interested now.

She smiled. "So, you go and play with Wilson and I'll go to Philadelphia and play with the girls."

He nodded. "And I also found someone to sublet my apartment."

"What? Sublet?"

"Sure. I'm gonna be living here, but I'll be moving back there someday. I don't want to get rid of it, but I don't want to leave it unattended."

"Good idea."

"When do you want me to move in here?"

"Move… oh, right. It doesn't matter. Whenever you'd like. I'll be going down to Philadelphia a few days before the wedding to attend to all the details. You and your best man should arrive no later than Friday afternoon, as the rehearsal will be Friday evening."

"Okay."

"I'll be staying with Grace and I'll arrange for you to stay with Drew."

"Drew? Why Drew?"

"Would you rather stay with my mother?"

"God, no!"

"Then you and Wilson will stay with him."

"Whatever."

She started to go on about some other plans, but he stopped her.

"I don't really care about all the details. Just tell me where to be and when."

"Alright, I can do that."

He hesitated, then asked her, "What about a honeymoon?"

"What?"

"A honeymoon? As in, are we taking one?"

"I wasn't planning on it. I have an important meeting on Monday. As I need to be in Philadelphia on Thursday and Friday, my time will be limited. Of course, I'll have my laptop, but I'll also be busy with wedding details."

"There's still the weekend."

She considered this. "I suppose we could go somewhere, as long as it's not far and we can be back in Princeton by Sunday evening."

"How about Atlantic City?"

She considered that and then nodded. "That would work. The company always keeps rooms reserved at the Borgata. I'll call my brother."

Figures, he thought. "Sounds great." He said.

Victoria drove down to Philadelphia early on Saturday afternoon so that she and Grace could have a little time together before the other girls from their school arrived.

The girls were all a bit silly in Victoria's opinion. She really hadn't kept in touch with them, but Grace had and they were amazed that someone in their set had waited until she was almost forty to marry for the first time. So of course, they attended the party.

As Victoria had predicted, the gifts consisted of sexy lingerie, toys and books. Once all the gifts had been opened and a good deal of champagne had been drunk (although Victoria only had one glass before moving on to sparkling cider), Grace began looking at her watch.

When there was a knock at the door, she said innocently, "Oh, who could that be?"

The young man who arrived to entertain them was young enough to be any one of their sons, but no one considered that as he danced and gyrated in his G-string for the ladies. He paid special attention to Victoria. Even though he was quite good-looking and had a terrific body, he didn't interest her more than something fun to look at.

In Princeton, Wilson took House to a local strip club and paid for a lap dance for him. The woman was very sultry and sexy and she knew her stuff. At the end of her performance she whispered something in his ear and he knew that she would take the dance further should he desire. And apparently Wilson would pay for that too.

He considered it. After all, this wasn't a real marriage. And Victoria was doing who knew what with some male stripper. But something didn't seem right and he declined.

Wilson beamed at him as if he was a proud father watching his child make the right decision. House just glowered at his friend.

Sunday evening, House was restlessly prowling around his apartment, wondering why the hell he hadn't slept with the lap dancer. She'd been sexy and very willing.

Why did a fake engagement leading up to a fake marriage suddenly make him puritanical?

He wasn't sure, but he did know one thing: He was horny and he had a hot fiancée. So why was he here and sexually frustrated?

A few minutes later, he was knocking on Victoria's door. When she answered, she looked at him in confusion.

"Is there something wrong, Greg?"

He avoided her eyes and said, "Just wanted to make sure you made it home okay."

She gave him an odd look. "There is such a thing as a telephone."

"Also wanted to make sure you didn't bring Jack the Stripper back with you."

"Actually, he just left. What about yours?"

"We were at it all night. I kicked her out about an hour ago."

"Oh, good." She said.

"Used a rubber didn't you?" he asked her. "You never know where the stud's dong's been."

"Of course. Actually, we used several. How about you?"

"Sure." He smiled at her and she smiled back. "So did he wear you out or are you ready for more?"

"I'm always ready for more."

She headed to the bedroom and as he followed he thought there were a lot of perks to this 'marriage.'


	22. This Night Chapter 21

_**And so we danced, though it was only a slow dance….**_

_**Chapter 21**_

_**It's just that she's better at doing whatever suits her style…**_

Victoria left for Philadelphia on Thursday morning, so that she could oversee the rest of the wedding plans. She stayed with Grace – which was much easier on her nerves than staying with her mother would have been.

On Friday, House and Wilson drove down to Philadelphia. While they were staying at Drew's house, Victoria had arranged for Blythe to stay at the Bellevue. She had a car pick her up and take her to the hotel as well.

House called her when he arrived in the city and told her they would meet her at four to take her to the rehearsal.

They had time to kill that afternoon, so they sat with Drew Marsden and talked over beers.

"I guess I should be warning you to take care of my sister or else." Drew said.

"Are you going to?" House asked.

"No. Tori can take care of herself. Always has. But she doesn't always make the best decisions, so don't be afraid to stand up to her."

"I'm not afraid to stand up to anyone."

"Ain't that the truth!" Wilson mumbled.

House glowered at him, while Drew smiled. "Well, then, you should be okay. But just for form, you should know that if you do manage to hurt her, I will be after you. And don't think because I'm gay, I can't whip your ass. I've spent a lot of years defending myself."

House nodded. "Understood."

A few minutes after four, House limped into the lobby of the hotel and found Blythe sitting there waiting for him. She hugged him when she saw him and smiled brightly.

"This is so exciting, Greg. You're finally getting married. And a wedding as well. I must thank your fiancée for putting me up at this lovely hotel."

"It's not a problem for her, Mom. But we need to go. Her brother is waiting outside for us."

They drove the Schuylkill Expressway again (which was why they left at four – Friday night on the Schuylkill was murder!) and arrived at the Bala Cynwyd Presbyterian church in good time.

The rehearsal went off with no problems, thanks to Victoria's organizational skills, then everyone returned to the Marsden home for the rehearsal dinner.

At the dinner, the first thing that Ruth Marsden did was to introduce herself to Blythe House.

"Mrs. House, it is such a pleasure to meet you. I'm Victoria's mother, Ruth Marsden. Isn't this exciting? Our children getting married?"

"Yes, it is. I've only briefly met Victoria, but she seems very nice. And so very lovely."

"Isn't she? And of course, the baby is such wonderful news!"

"B-baby?" Blythe asked.

"Of course! We are so excited about it! This will be our first grandchild. Yours too, I presume?"

"Yes." Blythe said in a tight voice. "Will you excuse me, Mrs. Marsden?"

She didn't wait for the other woman to answer before moving away from her and searching out her son. Victoria watched her walk away and saw the odd expression on her face and the smug one on her mother's and had a good idea what had happened.

Blythe found House chatting with Wilson and Drew Marsden. She marched right up to him and said to the other men, "Will you gentlemen excuse us? I need to speak to Greg – privately."

They nodded and she drew him away.

He saw the cold fury in her eyes as she said, "When were you intending to tell me that you're going to be a father?"

"Uh…" House was caught off guard.

"Did you plan on ever telling me? I know I'm not in the same league as these people, but I think I deserve to at least know that I have a grandchild."

He had never seen his mother so angry. He started, "Mom, I…"

Just then Victoria stepped up to them and interrupted, linking her arm in House's. "Mrs. House, I'm so sorry. I just found out that my mother told you about the baby. Please don't blame Greg. I asked him not to tell you until we could do it together. And then I got so wrapped up in all of the wedding details, that it completely slipped my mind!"

Blythe blinked. "Oh! I thought…"

"I know, and it's all my fault! I really wanted to see your face when we told you, but my mother didn't realize. I hope you can forgive us?"

"Oh, I guess…of course, I can."

"Thank you. I hope you're as excited as we are about it." Victoria smiled. It was a lovely smile, but just a tad insincere. Precisely as her words had sounded.

House knew exactly what she was doing. She was placating his mother for him, so that he wouldn't be in hot water. She was also laying the groundwork for the time when they divorced. Blythe wouldn't be sorry to see Victoria go if she thought her daughter-in-law was a little bitchy.

House admired his fiancée's cunning, but wondered about her motives. She was obviously determined to go through with her plan to divorce him after the baby came.

And since that meant he would earn $250,000, that was a good thing, right?


	23. This Night Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

_**Eddie could never afford to live that kind of life…**_

The Main Line of Philadelphia got its name from the original stops on the Pennsylvania Railroad as the train left the Broad Street station and continued through the northwestern suburbs to its eventual destination of Chicago. As the years progressed, it became synonymous with the affluent families that settled in those suburbs, many that retained their unusual Celtic names: Gladwynne, Bala Cynwyd, Paoli, etc.

The Marsden family made their home on the Main Line back when Stuart Marsden first started his company. Their children attended the private schools in the area. They belonged to the Merion Golf Club and the Radnor Hunt Club.

The Radnor Hunt Club is well known for horse back riding. Victoria grew up riding there. And the Merion Golf Club is the premier golf club in the country. All of the Marsden men played the course and had been members almost since its opening in 1912.

And so it would be at the Merion club that the Marsden-House wedding was to be held. Howard and Leland Marsden had enough pull at the club to get an event there despite the short time.

The ceremony took place at the Bala Cynwyd Presbyterian Church. The Marsdens, being aware of their position in their community, had been members of that church for a long time. And while they rarely attended Sunday services, they always contributed to the church. So, of course, the pastor was more than happy to host Victoria's wedding ceremony at the church.

Victoria, for her part, belonged to no church. But since her family insisted on a wedding service at the church, she acquiesced. And forced House to go along as well.

The wedding party consisted of Grace and Wilson, as maid of honor and best man, and various friends and relatives of Victoria's as bridesmaids and groomsmen, including Drew.

Victoria looked breathtaking in a strapless Vera Wang wedding dress, with her hair pulled back into a graceful chignon. She wore no veil and carried white and cream roses. The bridesmaids wore pale gray silk gowns and carried pale yellow rosebuds. The groomsmen wore gray suits with pale yellow ties. House also wore a gray suit, but his tie was white. It was perfectly elegant and, in House's opinion, perfectly ho-hum.

House wondered a bit about taking vows, when he knew they didn't mean them. But since it was in a church, it was a little easier for him to handle, since churches and deities held no meaning for him. Making promises in front of something that didn't exist was not a problem.

The ceremony was elegant and beautiful and went off without a problem. The guests clapped softly when they walked down the aisle and whispered to each other as they passed.

A lot of snobs, House thought.

When the ceremony ended, the limousines took them to the Merion Golf Club, where pictures were taken on the beautiful grounds before the wedding party went inside to join the guests. The food was exquisite and the guests were the cream of Philadelphia society.

Except for the three guests on the groom's side: Blythe, Wilson and Cuddy. They seemed a little dazzled by the event as well, but then again they had never been to a society wedding.

And House had never been to a more boring wedding.

Eventually, the time came when the bride and groom departed. They went quickly to her mother's house to change and pick up their luggage, before setting off in Victoria's car.

They headed back to the Schuylkill, then traveled the Walt Whitman Bridge to the Atlantic City Expressway and a little over an hour later, they arrived at the Borgata Hotel and Casino.

As promised, they checked into a lovely suite that was permanently reserved for Marsden Industries. Victoria immediately took out her laptop and began working.

House watched her for a few minutes, then said, "Why don't we go down to the casino for awhile?"

"I have work to do. But, please, go if you want. I don't mind."

"You sure?"

"Of course." She replied, but didn't look up from her laptop.

He watched her for a moment more, then shrugged and went to the casino. He made a tour of the available games, trying craps, roulette and black jack, among others. He noticed that the cocktail waitress that was serving the gamblers kept stealing glances at him. He smiled at her and made sure to tip her generously.

When he was finally bored with the games, he wandered over to the nearest lounge and ordered a drink. He was gradually aware of a presence beside him. He turned his head and saw the cocktail waitress standing at the bar, smiling at him.

He smiled back and toasted her with his glass.

She walked to stand beside him and said, "Are you finished gambling?"

He shrugged. "Probably."

"Interested in a different sort of game?"

He looked her over. Strawberry blonde hair, held back in a hairband, blue eyes and a very nice body.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked her.

"If you have a room here, I could show you."

"I have a room. Unfortunately, my wife is in it."

She shrugged. "So get another one."

He looked her over again and wondered why he was hesitating. Sure he was married, but he doubted that it would even bother Vic. She was so busy with her work, she didn't care where he went or what he did.

Still, it was his wedding night and there was something intrinsically wrong about sleeping with another woman on his wedding night.

Besides as sexy as this woman was, his WIFE was even hotter.

He swallowed the last of his drink and said as he rose from the barstool. "Sorry. I appreciate the offer. But it's actually my wedding night."

He left the bar and headed for the elevator.

Victoria rubbed her eyes. She'd been working on her laptop nonstop since House had left for the casino. Correction, since her HUSBAND left. It seemed very strange to her that she had a husband, even if it was only for a short time.

She supposed she could have gone with him, but she did have this work to complete and the last week had been crazy with trying to pull a wedding together in the short time she'd had. Still, the wedding had been flawless and the presentation was right on track, so she could take a break.

She stood up, wondering if she should call him on his cell or just go down and try to find him, when the door to the suite opened and House walked in

He looked at her standing there. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt (designer), but her hair was still in the fancy hairstyle from the wedding. Her feet were bare.

"Oh," she said, "You're back. I was just going to…"

"Shut up." He said and moved to her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her roughly, then leading her briskly to the bed.

"Greg?" she asked him breathlessly.

"I said to shut up. Just get your clothes off and sit on that bed."

Staring into his blue eyes, she did as he asked. He watched her and when she had complied, he moved next to the bed. He opened his fly and quickly pushed his pants down, then he nudged her back on the bed and entered her in one hard thrust.

She cried out in surprise, but soon caught his rhythm and was moving with him. It didn't take long before she went over the edge and he let go as well.

"Happy wedding, Mrs. House." He said as he collapsed beside her.


	24. This Night Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23**_

_**Though we share so many secrets, there are some we never tell…**_

After their brief honeymoon, they returned to Princeton and their regular routines. The only difference was that House came home to Victoria's penthouse every night. And slept in the bed with her every night.

House established his residency there with little problem. Anita already liked him and had been very pleased when they announced their marriage.

"So, Hazel," House said to her with a smirk, "How do you feel about serving me breakfast in bed every morning?"

She gave him an odd look. "If you think you're going to confuse me by your reference to an old sixties TV show, you're wrong. And if you want breakfast in bed, I suggest you install an oven in the bedroom. Okay, DOC?"

He grinned at her. "Is that Doc from Love Boat or Gunsmoke?"

"Depends on how you act. If you're wise and just a little grumpy, it's Gunsmoke. If you act like an ass, it's Love Boat all the way."

Victoria's pregnancy was running very smoothly. She got through the first trimester with only minimal morning sickness. During the second trimester, she felt very good and experienced the traditional horniness, which considering her normal sex drive, meant that House was very happy.

Outside of the bedroom, their relationship was…pleasant. They chatted amiably, watched movies on television together and even occasionally went out to dinner. She sometimes sat in the parlor while he played the piano. It was very nice, very domestic, but House felt that even with all the sex, there was a level of intimacy missing.

By the third trimester, she was still feeling pretty good, although not happy about the size of her belly. Still, her OB/GYN could find no problems and predicted a healthy baby would be born right on time.

Which is why House was confused when he got a call from the emergency room saying that his wife was there. She was just at the eight month point.

He hurried down to the ER and found her sitting on a table. She was obviously not in labor, but she was holding her arm and the resident was putting stitches in her forehead.

"What the hell happened?" House demanded, trying to hide the panic that he was feeling.

"Stupid idiot cut me off! Just cut right in front of me! He wasn't even looking. I think he was on his cell phone as well, though he denied it. And my car is totaled. Can you believe it?"

"Fuck the car. How are YOU?"

"I don't know. Alright, I think."

House turned to the resident. "How is she?"

"She banged up her arm, but it's not broken, just strained. Cut her head on the glass, but it's only two stitches. We're going to send her for an ultrasound to make sure the baby's okay, but it doesn't look like her abdomen was affected. Excuse me."

The resident stepped out to get a wheelchair to take her for the ultrasound.

House went to her and took her pulse, just because he needed to reassure himself that everything was, indeed, okay. It was a little fast, but she was still worked up about the accident.

"Glass broke?" he asked her.

She sighed. "The side window. He really messed up my car. I think it's going to be totaled."

The resident returned with the wheelchair and took her for the ultrasound. House followed behind them, determined to be there and check it out for himself.

Everything was fine. House left his team running tests and drove her home. He told Anita what had happened and asked her to be sure Victoria rested the remainder of the day, just in case.

"No problem, Doc. She won't be going anywhere."

"Knew I could depend on you, Hazel."

House was sound asleep that night when something woke him up. It took him a minute to realize that it was Victoria. She was saying something and after listening for a few moments, he could make it out to be, "No, no, that's not it! No, please believe me!"

He realized she was having a bad dream. He listened a little more, as she tossed and turned, repeating the same words. He decided he had to wake her up. He switched on the bedside lamp.

"Vic? Vic! Come on, wake up, you're having a bad dream."

She slowly opened her eyes, but was still breathing heavily. Her eyes focused on House. "What happened?"

"You tell me. Sounded like you were having a bad dream."

She sat up and looked away from him. "It was nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing."

"Probably just some delayed stress from the accident. I'm fine."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but she was already laying down again and closing her eyes. "Please turn out the light."

"Vic…" he began.

"Forget it, Greg."

Of course he didn't forget about it. Especially when she had the dream again the next night. And the night after that. By the fifth night, he was totally aggravated. Because every time he woke her up and tried to get her to talk about it and she blew him off.

Anita was no help. "I know she's had the dreams before. I've heard her. But I don't know what they're about. And usually, they're only once in a while, not every night."

"I need to find out what this is about."

"Kudos to you, Doc, if you can."

The next time she had the dream, he woke her up as usual. But when she tried to go back to sleep, he wouldn't let her.

"No, you're going to talk to me. What's in the dream? Why is it upsetting you?"

"Greg, you don't need to get involved with this. And if it's bothering your sleep, you can stay in the guest room."

"It's not that and I'm not going to any fucking guest room. YOU are going to tell me what the dreams are about."

"Why do you care?"

He looked at her, unsure of how to answer. "I know that this a fake marriage, but we are married and I thought we were friends. Something is bothering you. You're never going to get over it if you don't talk about it."

She sat up and leaned back against the headboard. "I have talked about it. Many shrinks over the years have advised me. It doesn't do any good."

"Why don't you try it one more time?"

She looked at him and then stared at her bloated belly. "I had an abortion."

He tilted his head and put his hand on her belly. "I'm pretty sure you didn't."

"Not now, of course. In college. I was twenty and had a lot of things ahead of me. The last thing I wanted was a baby. And the guy was no one to depend on. My family would have been shocked, all my dreams would have been dashed. Not to mention that I was a spoiled rich girl and totally immature. I just couldn't do it."

"Sure. That makes sense. Nothing wrong with that."

"I know. That's what I told myself. That's what a legion of shrinks have told me for the last twenty years."

"But…"

She sighed. "You know, pro-choice is an excellent idea and I totally support it, even now. But no one talks about the price you pay."

"What price did you pay?"

"Dreams. Dreams about the child I destroyed. I have dreams and I see the child. Sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl. As the years past, the child would grow and age. Oh, I wouldn't have the dream all the time, just now and then. But it was always the same. I would see the child and he or she would say to me, 'Why mommy? Why did you kill me? Don't you love me?'"

Man, House thought, that really sucked.

"They had started to abate in the past few years. Only once in awhile when I was stressed. But when I got pregnant, I started having them a little more frequently. Now, it's a young adult who asks me, 'Why do you love this baby more than you loved me?' And since the accident, I've had them every night. Now, he or she says, 'See you crashed your car. You want to kill this baby too.'

"Greg, I don't want to kill this baby. I want this child. I didn't want to kill the other one. But I'm afraid these dreams are going to make me do something awful to the baby!"

He pulled her into his arms and held her.

"Are you going to tell me I shouldn't feel this way?"

"I can't tell you how to feel. Have you gone back to your shrink?"

She shook her head. "They never helped."

"Yeah, but it seems like you've added a new wrinkle to this. Maybe you need to. I have a pretty good one at Mayfield if you want. Or find one that specializes in issues like this. I'm sure there are."

She nodded. "I'll see."

This time she did lie down again and go to sleep.

But for some reason after she talked to House about it, the dreams subsided. And in a few more weeks, she went into labor and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.


	25. This Night Chapter 24

_**I started breaking my promises right there and then.**_

_**Chapter 24**_

_**Don't ask for help, you're all alone…**_

Since Victoria intended that the baby be hers alone, she decided to select the name. She chose Andralynn and sometimes called her Andra for short. Every time House thought of the name, he thought Android.

Victoria took three weeks off from work. She had only intended to take two, but found herself too tired to go back at the end of that time. Still, during that last week, she was in her home office or on her laptop more often than not.

She loved the baby, but caring for an infant was a little beyond her. She was very grateful she could afford to hire help.

Anita took care of the baby during the day, but for later in the afternoon, Victoria had hired two girls from the university to alternate and care for Andra so that Anita could finish her work and have some time for herself.

House tried to stay away from the baby. After all, in a short time, he would be gone and not seeing her at all. Still, his curiosity got the best of him and he had to check her out.

She was so small and unbelievably beautiful. Her hair was coming in dark and thick, but her eyes were a brilliant blue. He knew that baby's eyes sometimes changed within the first year, but still, her eyes seemed so much like his own.

He found himself wandering into her room whenever he could. When she was awake, she would stare at him and then smile.

Now, intellectually, he knew that at that age, she was probably not actually smiling and that it was gas. Still, his ego had him believing that her expression was joy in seeing her Daddy and not a bodily function.

But the closer he seemed to get to Andra, the further apart he grew from her mother.

During her pregnancy, they had actually gotten along pretty well. They had sex on a regular basis and even took time to just be together and talk. Not that he was expecting anything more than collecting his money and walking away, but still, it was nice.

But now, three months after the birth, they still hadn't had sex. Victoria told him she just wasn't interested right then. He tried to be considerate. He understood that women sometimes needed time to heal from childbirth. And since it wasn't a real marriage, he didn't feel he had the right to push her on it.

But he was frustrated by it.

Victoria forced herself to pull away from her husband. It was too easy to fall into the happy family illusion. They'd just had a baby and everything seemed wonderful. But realistically, she knew that sort of euphoria did not last. Babies became children and then teenagers and the parents grew apart and eventually started hating each other.

And a man like Greg House would not pass up all of that money for a happy little family. Especially since happy families didn't really exist anyway.

So from the moment Andra was born, she began acting cool towards him. And she was determined to not have sex with him again. She knew that sex with him was really great and if she did it, she'd be a goner. It was better to do without now and set the terms of this split, than to get too close and be hurt later.

Anita saw what Victoria was doing, and being the woman she was, she called her employer on it.

"I know you're gonna tell me it's none of my business, but what the hell are you doing?"

"It probably isn't any of your business, but what are you referring to?"

"Why are pushing Doc away?"

"You're right, it isn't any of your business."

Anita glared at her. "Look, I've stood by and watched you do lots of stupid things with men over the years. But I thought you finally got smart when you married Doc."

"Did you think I married him because I was madly in love?"

"Of course not. But he's a good guy. A little rough around the edges and sometimes too honest for his own good. But the kind of guy you need."

Victoria considered her next words, but then finally said, "Well, for your information, the guy you think is so good married me so that I would pay him $250,000."

"I know that."

Victoria looked at her, incredulous. "How in the world would you know that?"

"You may have paid a lot of money for this place, but it doesn't mean the walls are real thick. I hear everything that's going on."

"Well, then, if you know, then how can you still think he's worth keeping?"

Anita took a deep breath. "Did you give him a chance to do anything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you tell him about the kid and give him a chance to do something about it on his own or did you lead with your money offer?"

"I…what difference does it make?"

"It makes a lot of difference. What man is going to turn down all that money? And once he accepted your offer, he was stuck with it. You never gave him the chance to choose you and the baby on his own."

Victoria pressed her lips together. She did NOT want to consider that option. "It wouldn't matter. People in my family do not have long relationships with anyone. It's better that he leave now so that Andra and I can get on with out lives."

Anita shook her head. "You know something, Victoria? You may have those fancy degrees from Penn and Wharton, but that doesn't make you very smart."


	26. This Night Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25**_

_**I've run out of places to hide…**_

As the baby approached six months old, House found himself more and more drawn to her. He tried to avoid it, but he was powerless.

He felt a tug of his heartstrings every time he looked at her. And now he was sure it was not gas. She was smiling for him. He also seemed to have the knack for calming her down.

She would get fussy and Anita or one of the nannies would try their best, but she would still cry. Then he'd come into the room and smile at her or hold her for a minute, and she'd calm down immediately. Everyone was amazed.

But he just smiled, held her and whispered, "That's my girl."

Every day she seemed to learn something new. Her little mind was like a sponge and he was happy to feed it. Her eyes were bright with intelligence even at so young an age.

She loved music too. He'd sit her in her infant seat by the piano and play for her and she'd smile and coo.

One day Victoria came home to find him playing with the baby. She got a strange look on her face and said, "Greg, could I speak to you?"

He smiled at Andra, then joined Victoria in the bedroom.

"What's up?"

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Hanging out with the kid. Why?"

"Exactly my question. Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Why not?"

"Because you are not going to be a part of her life. Why start this?"

He was silent. He knew she was right. He didn't know why he liked spending so much time with his daughter.

"Greg, it's better if you don't spend too much time with her. Then neither of you won't get too attached. At this age, if you limit your contact, she won't remember you. She won't miss you."

"Right. No problem." He told her and walked away.

Victoria knew she was acting bitchy, but it was for the best. Best for him and best for Andra.

House tried to do as she asked; he tried to stay away from the baby. He really did. But like a moth to a flame, he was drawn to her room. So he tried to be sure he only spent time with her when Victoria was not at home.

Of course, his wife found out. When she came home early one evening and found him playing piano for Andra, she sighed and stared at him.

He tried to look guilty, but he didn't feel it.

"Damn it, she's my kid and I can spend time with her if I want!"

Victoria just gave him a look and took the baby to her room and put her to bed. Then she returned to the living room and approached the piano where he still sat playing softly.

"Greg, I think it's time we finish this."

He looked at her. "What?"

"You've fulfilled your part of the bargain and we've been married a year. Andra is just six months old. If you leave now, she won't remember you at all, so she won't miss you."

He didn't answer.

"As soon as you are packed and ready to go, I'll give you your check. And you may as well move to the guest room now."

He was still silent and she left him there.

He sat staring at the piano keys. Suddenly he didn't feel like playing any longer. He should be happy. He was about to be a free man again and one with a quarter of a million dollars.

He wandered into his 'new' bedroom and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Why was he feeling so depressed? This was what he'd agreed to. This was what he'd wanted. This was the best thing for everyone.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there just staring at nothing. But when he did get up, the rest of the apartment was silent, so he knew that both Victoria and Anita had gone to bed. He left the room and walked quietly into the baby's.

The little nightlight on wall put a soft glow over her crib. She was sleeping, blowing out little bubbles as she slept.

He reached out a finger and touched her cheek. It was so soft. He smiled as he moved his finger to her soft curls. It was amazing how much her hair had grown.

He realized that once he left and took that check, he would never see her again. He would never see her hair grow any longer. He would never see HER grow.

And suddenly he knew the truth: He was in love with his daughter.

And his wife was not going to be happy.


	27. This Night Chapter 26

_**I've been around, someone like me should know better.**_

_**Chapter 26**_

_**But you won't like 'em all of the time…**_

Anita knew something was wrong with House. She'd heard him walking around the apartment the night before. And he was awake much earlier than usual, even though he stayed in the other room until Victoria left for the day.

When he wandered out, he went to the kitchen for coffee.

"What's up, Doc?" she asked him.

He gave her a quick smile. "Hazel, you enjoy saying that way too much."

"So sue me."

He sat at the table, holding onto to his coffee mug, studying the contents.

She sat down beside him. "You can talk to me. I won't tell the misses."

He sighed. "It's …complicated."

"If you're talking about how she's paying you to marry her and leave, it's not that complicated."

"You know about that?"

She just gave him a look.

"Of course you do. Well, last night she asked me to leave. She's making out the check."

"She's an idiot. But that's beside the point. Why are you moping around here? Why aren't you packing and shopping for your new motorcycle?"

He didn't answer.

"Ah." She said. "Which one of them?"

"What?"

"Which one of them has you stuck? Or, I should ask, is it just the baby or is it her too?"

"She hasn't given me a chance. We never made this a real marriage. But the Android?" He just shook his head and chuckled.

"Yeah, I figured that. So what are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do. But I have a feeling your employer is not going to be happy."

"Oh, well. Maybe she needs to learn that things don't always work out the way she planned."

He went to work, but found it hard to concentrate. He knew he had to tell his wife what he'd decided. And he was not looking forward to it.

He wanted to put it off, but knew that was stupid. She was expecting him to move out. He had to confront her.

So that night when she came in from work, he was waiting for her.

"We need to talk." He told her.

"What's the matter?"

He hesitated, took a deep breath and finally said, "I can't give up my daughter."

Her look was incredulous. "What? You don't a choice. We have an agreement."

"I know. But I can't do it."

"You realize you will forfeit the money?"

"I know."

"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Greg, you realize that?"

"I KNOW!"

"Do you also realize that I have very expensive, very powerful attorneys at my disposal? I can sue for full custody anyway and you will not receive a penny."

"I know that too. I'm hoping that you won't do that."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because even though you pretend to be, you're not really a bitch."

She was silent for a bit. "Greg, this is not what I intended. I really do not want to do the divorced parent shuffle. It will be so much easier for me to have custody of Andra myself."

"But it's not the best thing for her. She should have a father in her life. And I know I'm not the best one, but I'm hers. And I want to be with her. I want to watch her grow. I want to teach her things. I just can't let her go."

His voice hitched just a bit at the end and Victoria had a feeling she might lose this one.

"Are you sure you want to give up all of that money?"

"No, I don't want to give it up. But I also don't want to sell my daughter. So I guess I will be giving it up."

She sighed. "I don't like this Greg."

"I know. I know I'm breaking our agreement, I know I'm complicating your life. But remember those dreams you have about the baby that you…"

She cut him off. "Yes."

"Well, I think that would happen to me if I walked out of her life."

She shook her head, but she knew this was over. There was nothing she could say against that.

"So," he continued. "You get one of your fancy lawyers to draw up a shared custody agreement and I'll sign it. But I'm not leaving this apartment until we've got that. I know that once I leave, I lose a lot of my power."

"Fine, I'll get an agreement drawn up."

He nodded, but stood there silent for a bit. "Vic?"

"What?" she asked crisply.

"What if we gave it a chance?"

"Gave what a chance?" she asked, although she had a feeling she knew what he was talking about.

"This. Us. You, me and the baby."

She pushed her lips together tightly. She'd been afraid he would ask for this. And she had to hold herself in check, because a part of her so wanted to say 'yes'.

But the other part, the logical, intelligent part, knew that would be a mistake.

Right now they were friends. If they had to share custody of Andra, they could do it in a civil manner. And the baby would not have to deal with two people who constantly made snide comments about the other one. She would not have to try to love two people who hated each other and end up losing the love of both of them.

No, it was much better this way.

"No, Greg, I don't think that would be a good idea. We're much better off this way."

He stared at her, his blue eyes holding more emotion than she wanted to see.

"Okay." He said. "It was just an idea. Hey, why not try to get the kid and the money?"

She knew he was lying, but still she glared at him once, then turned and went to her room.

He stayed there for a few minutes. He'd just lost a quarter of a million dollars.

And a woman that was …interesting. And hot.

But he'd just gained a lifetime with his daughter.

And despite the losses, he'd never felt happier in his life.


	28. This Night Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27**_

_**Our reason co-exists with our insanity…**_

House contacted the doctor that had sublet his apartment and gave him notice. Actually, the timing was good, as the man had just decided to move in with his girlfriend, so he agreed to be out before the end of the week.

The next day when House went to work, he sought out Wilson.

"How do you feel about going shopping with me this weekend?"

"Shopping? What are you shopping for?"

"Baby stuff."

"But you've got loads of baby stuff."

"I don't have it at my apartment."

"At your…oh, damn, House, what did you do?"

House sat back on the sofa and sighed. "Jimmy, my boy, are you ready for a story?"

"A…what?"

House then began to tell him of his agreement with Victoria and why they got married.

Wilson looked confused. "But if you're getting that money to walk away from her and the baby, why do you need baby supplies?"

House thumped his cane of the floor a few times. "Because I broke the agreement."

Wilson considered this and quickly realized what he meant. "Oh, you can't give up the baby."

House shook his head.

"And she's still giving you the money?"

House gave him a withering look.

"Oh, you gave up the money to get the kid. Wow, House, that's amazing."

"So, are we on for shopping on Saturday?"

"Sure."

On Saturday morning, House and Wilson walked into Babies 'R' Us. Wilson immediately grabbed a cart and started looking at the aisle names, pulling out a list he had gotten from Cuddy of what they would need. House found a rocking chair and immediately sat down.

Wilson went up and down the aisles, selecting items. He came back to House to show him things and get his opinion, but after getting nods and grunts from his friend – and finding him asleep the fourth time he came back – he gave up and just made the decisions himself.

When he was finished, he brought the cart back to House and said, "I got everything that was on the list. You've been sitting here. Isn't there anything you want to get for your daughter?"

House leaned back and considered. "I like this rocker. Let's get this."

Wilson just shook his head. Finally, House rose from the chair and they moved to the cash register. When he saw all of the things that Wilson had picked out, his eyes widened.

"That's going to cost me a fortune!"

"Babies are expensive."

"Well, don't you think her godfather should help out?"

Wilson rolled his eyes. "I was planning on paying for the crib. Will that help?"

The crib was one of the higher priced items, so House liked that idea. "Yes, it will. Thanks, Uncle Jimmy."

He pulled out his credit card and paid for the rest of it. When they were finished, they transported it all to his now vacant apartment and dumped it. Wilson wanted to start setting it up, but House disagreed.

"I don't want to look at baby stuff anymore today. Let's go to the bar, get a beer and a sandwich and watch the game."

"What game?"

"Doesn't matter. There has to be SOME game on."

"You realize you're are going to be looking at and dealing with baby stuff and the baby herself every other weekend for the unforeseeable future."

"Yep. Which is why I want to go to the bar now."

Wilson smiled and nodded.

Over the course of the following week, with Wilson doing most of the work, they got all the baby equipment put together and set up in House's apartment. It was a bit crowded, but it fit.

"You know," Wilson told him. "Eventually, you're going to have to get a larger place."

"Why?"

"You can have her crib in your bedroom now, but what happens when she's older and needs a bed? She can't share with dad all her life."

"I'll think about that later."

"One of your life's mottos." Wilson grumbled.

House glared at him. Then he went back to Victoria's to wait for her to present him with a custody agreement.


	29. This Night Chapter 28

_**I've been around, someone like me should know better.**_

_**Chapter 28**_

_**But I know the game, you'll forget my name…**_

A few days later, Victoria was waiting when House came home. She handed him an envelope.

"This is the custody agreement my lawyers drew up. Please read it and let me know if you have any changes you'd like to make. If you'd like your lawyer to look it over, that's fine."

House looked at the fat envelope in his hand. "Why don't you just recite the abridged version?"

"Very well. Essentially, you'll have Andralynn every other weekend. If one of us has to work or is otherwise occupied, we can request to switch weekends. You also have the option to take her on Wednesday evenings."

"What does that mean?"

"It means if you don't have a patient and wish to take her for the evening or overnight, you may. You'll just need to contact me no later than two p.m. that day."

"O-kay." He said, starting to get confused.

"Now, for holidays, we can either alternate them or split them. For instance, if I have Thanksgiving, you have Christmas, and then the following year, we switch. Or we each take half of the holiday weekend."

Now he was confused. "I'll read it." He told her.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "The problem is, you won't. Then you'll complain when it doesn't go the way you want. And I refuse to deal with that. So please, have a lawyer, have James, have SOMEONE read it. Be sure it is to your liking. As soon as it is, I'll bring my lawyer here so that we can both sign it and he can notarize it. And we can file the divorce papers then too."

"Fine." He told her, stuffing the envelope under his arm.

Logic told him that he should have a lawyer look at it. The only lawyer that he knew was Stacy and he was not going to her with this (or anything else, for that matter). He also didn't want to involve the hospital lawyer in his private life. Not to mention that the hospital lawyer hated his guts.

In the end, Anita's son (the lawyer) came to visit Mom one morning. House wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if Hazel was looking out for him, but the guy read the papers for him. He explained the agreement to House, noted a few things that should be changed and told him that basically it was a good agreement.

House was not expected to pay child support, since Victoria had a lot more money than him. He was required to deposit money into a trust fund for Andra every month to demonstrate his willingness to look out for her well-being. Visitation and holidays would be flexible and they would adjust as needed based on their schedules.

House gave the papers back to Victoria and two days later, her lawyer came to the penthouse. They signed the agreement and the lawyer notarized it.

When he left, Victoria said, "Well, now you are free to move out. If you could please do that soon, I would appreciate it."

He nodded and said, "I'll leave tomorrow."

He went to his room and stretched out on the bed. This would be the last night he slept here, the last night he could peek in on his sleeping daughter at any time. Because of that, he got up and wandered into her room.

She looked so sweet sleeping there. He reminded himself that he would still be a part of her life. Still, he would miss seeing her whenever he wanted.

As he stood there, he didn't see Victoria come to the doorway and peer in.

A tinge of sadness touched her, but she pushed it back. He was going to see his daughter. There was nothing for her to feel guilty about. After all, she'd been very magnanimous, considering he had broken their agreement. Now she was forced to do the divorced parent shuffle with him, instead of being the single mom. He should feel guilty for disrupting her plans.

So why did she feel like a bitch?

**A/N: Thanks to all of you that have been reading and especially those who have left comments. It's very gratifying. i know that Victoria is not the most likeable heroine, but I hope that in the end, she redeems herself to you. And I hope everyone is enjoying the Billy Joel. I won't mind if you start humming the song while you're reading. Thanks!**


	30. This Night Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29**_

_**I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again…**_

The next evening, Wilson went home with House to help him pack up the few things he had moved into the penthouse. It consisted of his clothes, some books, his guitars, video games and a few other odds and ends. It didn't take long.

While they were packing, Victoria stepped in. She was wearing a cocktail dress, as there was a charity dinner she was heading off to.

She greeted Wilson. "Hello, James. Thank you for helping Greg."

"Hi, uh, no problem." Wilson said, a little unsure of what to say to her.

House avoided looking at her, as he threw clothes into a box. She stood there watching him for a few moments, then she licked her lips and said, "Well, I really need to be leaving."

House still ignored her.

"Greg, we're not going to be childish about this, are we?"

"Nope. Just don't have anything to say. So goodbye, enjoy your party, enjoy your life."

She nodded and said, "Goodbye, Greg."

She turned and left the room, then the apartment. She held herself in check as she passed the elevator operator and the doorman. But once she got into the hired car, while the driver negotiated the Princeton streets, she allowed herself a few minutes of self-pity.

Soon she would be a divorced woman. In old-fashioned terms, she had been looked at as a woman who couldn't get a man. Now it would be as one who couldn't hold on to one.

Not that she cared about how chauvinistic people viewed her. But she had to wonder: Was she doing the right thing? Was Anita right? Was Greg a man she could have had a future with? And had she just thrown all that away?

When she could feel a tear start to fill her eye, she stopped herself. She did not cry. She never cried. She would certainly not start over a grumpy doctor. Who loved his daughter enough to pass up a fortune. Who also happened to be the best lover she'd ever had and whom she had pushed out of her life.

She didn't need a man, despite the sex. She really didn't. She would be just fine.

Not long after House moved out, their divorce was final. The papers were delivered to him at work. By coincidence, Wilson was with him when they arrived. He watched House's face as he opened the envelope, glanced at the contents and then threw it on his desk.

"You okay?" Wilson asked.

"Peachy."

"If you need to break a mirror at a bar, I'm with you."

House smiled at his friend. "Yeah, well, thanks for the offer. Maybe I just want to break a certain bitch's neck."

"No you don't."

House gave his a look, then said, "You're right, I don't."

"House, why don't you just talk to her, tell her how you feel."

"I tried. She's not interested."

"She's scared."

"Maybe. But it's still over."


	31. This Night Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30**_

_**Inside this ancient heart, you'll always be a part of me…**_

House spent the next few weeks adjusting to being a single man and a part time father.

Having Andra for the weekend was fun, but challenging. At the penthouse, there was always Anita or one of the nannies to help with her. Now, it was only him.

He had to make her bottles or her baby food and feed her. He had to bathe her, change her, dress her. He had to put her to bed and make sure she fell asleep. If she woke during the night, he had to get up and calm her down.

At first, it was a challenge. That first weekend made him seriously doubt the wisdom of his decision. When he brought her back to Victoria's on Sunday night, he was exhausted and collapsed in his bed as soon as he returned home.

But there was still her sweet smile every time she saw her daddy. And his heart melted.

After a while, he found a rhythm for taking care of her. Without the women hovering over her, he relaxed a little.

As long as her diaper was dry, some food spilled on clothes wouldn't hurt anyone and didn't need to be changed immediately. Especially since more would probably spill. Bottles could be made in advance and warmed up as needed. She could also hang out in a onesie or her sleeper for most of the day – as long as she didn't make them wet. And since the piano calmed her, he'd get her dressed for bed, then put her in her little infant seat and play for her until she fell asleep, then move her to her crib.

But when she woke during the night, he did what all the experts said not to do: he brought her to bed with him. Cuddling together, they both fell asleep. He always made sure there were pillows around her so she wouldn't roll off the bed. He knew that probably screwed up her sleeping pattern when she was with her mother, but, well, fuck 'em. Victoria was paying people to take care of her. Let them earn their money.

His mother came to visit on a weekend that he had Andra. She was disappointed that his marriage had failed, but not too unhappy. Although she never said it, he had the feeling that she didn't really like Victoria. But at least she still had her grandchild. He shuddered to think what she would have said if he had given up the baby.

As far as his sex life went, he used the occasional prostitute or hooked up with a woman at a bar for a one-night stand. When he didn't have the baby, of course. But since this wasn't much different from his life before Victoria, it didn't really bother him. Of course, having sex with his hot and horny wife had been great, but there was nothing he could do about that.

Work kept him occupied otherwise. Once he'd had to work when he had Andra with him and he had brought her to the hospital with him. If he wasn't holding her during the DDX, she either slept in his office or was fussed over by the nurses. Since she was a happy baby with a pleasant nature, no one minded at all.

He found places to take her on his weekends and discovered that simple pleasures were best. A walk to the park on a sunny day enchanted her. Pushing her in a baby swing delighted her. Cuddling on a sofa in a book store while he read 'Goodnight Moon' for the umpteenth time, made her smile.

He also shared time with Cuddy and Rachel. Once he and Cuddy had gotten past the awkwardness from his hallucination and had come to terms with the fact that they were really friends, but never again lovers, they had actually become better friends. Rachel was about a year and a half older than Andra, but she fussed like a little mother over the child. And Cuddy was a wealth of advice for House. They arranged play dates and talked parent talk while the girls played. It was nice that he was able to put Cuddy where she belonged in his life: his boss and his friend.

Six months after the marriage dissolved, Andra had her first birthday. Victoria held a lavish party for her, attended by her family and important friends.

Cuddy held a little party for Andra at her house. Wilson was there. There was lunch: peanut butter and jelly for the kids, pasta primavera for the adults and of course, cake and ice cream for dessert. House had a feeling this party was a lot more fun than Victoria's.

Six months divorced and a single father had taught him there was a lot he could do on his own. There were limitations too, but most important, there was Andra and she was the best thing he'd ever done.


	32. This Night Chapter 31

_**I tell myself how much I really don't care.**_

_**Chapter 31**_

_**Fantasies that I have been keeping will make the empty hours easier to stand…**_

Victoria's life had also taken on a new rhythm. She continued working, but tried to limit the dinners she had to attend or to schedule them when Andra was with House.

Even though she had hired help, she tried to spend time with her daughter everyday, even if it was just to read a story before bedtime or playing with her toys for a few minutes.

She was determined to not be her mother. She wanted her daughter to know how much she cared.

So on her weekends with Andra, she would take her to lots of interesting places that were designed to stimulate the baby: museums, baby gymboree classes and other things that the experts said were good for her. But Andra was either fussy or bored while they were there, which frustrated Victoria. And even though Victoria tried to spend time with her, the baby got more excited when Anita entered the room.

And she positively crowed when her father arrived to pick her up.

Victoria didn't know what she was doing wrong. She certainly hadn't had any sort of role model of maternal affection to guide her. Still, wasn't the parent-child bond supposed to come naturally? The only person she could think to ask about it was Anita. Yet, she was reluctant to ask her housekeeper for advice. She was Victoria Marsden. She was supposed to have all the answers. So she just went on as she'd been and hoped for the best.

As far as her social life, she had hooked up with an occasional man, but none that she was inclined to start an "arrangement" with as she'd had with House. She was also a little afraid to do so. Her relationship with her ex-husband had taken a lot out of her and she wasn't eager to repeat it.

Also, she now had a child in her home and was reluctant to expose her to strange men.

So what if her bed felt lonely? And who cared if the piano seemed a little sad with no one playing it? And what did it matter that she was sometimes haunted by the memory of intense blue eyes? Those things really weren't important.

She was an independent and intelligent woman. She could live her life without a man. As long as she had her daughter, she was content. She did NOT miss Gregory House.

House found some improvement in his social life. He started seeing a nurse at the hospital. She was nice, but a little bland after Victoria. Still, she was built and she enjoyed sex. And since she'd been married twice before, she didn't put any pressure on him.

But he still kept her separate from Andra. He wasn't ready to make a new little family. He enjoyed the daddy and me time with his daughter.

When he picked the baby up at Victoria's on his weekends, he usually saw Anita. She always greeted him warmly.

"How's it going, Doc?"

"It's good, Hazel."

They would chat for a few minutes, Anita giving him a rundown on Andra's week and anything else he should know. Then they would just talk about other things.

One night, she seemed to want to cut their chat short.

"What's going on, Hazel? Got a hot date?"

For the first time since he met Anita, he saw her blush.

"Whoa, you do!"

She recovered quickly. "None of your business."

"Hazel has a boyfriend! Hazel has a boyfriend!"

"God, you're worse than my kid brother. He at least grew up at some point."

House just snickered. "So, tell me all about him. Where'd you meet him? What does he do? Is he dreamy?"

She rolled her eyes. "I met him at church."

"Church?"

"Yeah, some people actually go to church, as strange as that may seem. He's an electrician. He lost his wife two years age, has grown kids, grandkids."

He saw the serious look in her eyes and realized, "You like him. You really like him."

She looked away. "I haven't been with anyone since my Joe…well, I haven't wanted to. But Sean is just, well, he's nice and we have a lot in common."

"Hmmm, an electrician. Guess he knows how to get your circuits lit."

She smacked him on the arm. "That's enough. Take your daughter and get out of here."

He laughed. He really enjoyed talking to her. She was the big sister he'd never had and he was happy that she found someone. It was good for her.

When they talked, he always avoided asking about Victoria. He only saw her occasionally. She knew when he was coming, either to pick up or drop off the baby. So she made sure to stay in her office or bedroom until he left.

It was easier that way.

When she did see him, she couldn't help but think how good he still looked to her. Especially holding and laughing with the baby. If anything, his devotion to his daughter made him even sexier than he'd been before.

So it was better to avoid him instead of doing something really stupid like jumping him.

He missed seeing her, but it was easier for him too. One Sunday he did see her when he dropped off Andra. They spoke cordially, how are you and such.

But when he went to visit his girlfriend afterwards, he couldn't perform. He blew it off to her as just being exhausted after a weekend with the baby, but in his heart he knew the truth.

He never really forgot his ex-wife.


	33. This Night Chapter 32

_**Wanting to hold you, but knowing you would not be there.**_

_**Chapter 32**_

_**Something I'd never lose, something somebody stole…**_

Victoria was working one day when she received a phone call from Grace.

"Tori, do you have the baby this weekend?"

"No, Greg does."

"Good. Could you come here to see me?"

"Oh, Grace, I have so much work. Could we get together in a few weeks?"

"No. I need to see you. Bring your laptop if you have to. But I really need to see you."

Victoria was stunned by her words. Grace never made demands like that. She understood the pressure of Victoria's work.

And true, she hadn't seen her cousin since Andra's birthday six months before. But this wasn't totally unusual. When Victoria was wrapped up in work or special projects, she blocked everything else out. They'd gone months without seeing each other before. Grace understood the pressure she was under. They sent emails and text messages, so they were never really out of touch.

Which is why Victoria was confused by her cousin's phone call. Grace never demanded to see her like this. It had to be important. Victoria agreed to drive down.

She had a dinner to attend on Friday evening, so she left Saturday morning. She arrived at Grace's townhouse around one and her cousin had lunch ready for them. They ate and chatted during lunch.

Victoria knew there was more that Grace wanted to say, but she didn't want to do it over lunch.

When they were finished and sipping coffee in the parlor, Victoria tried to get to the heart of the matter.

"So, how's Brian?"

Brian was the stockbroker that Grace had been dating.

"Fine, I suppose. We're not together any longer."

Victoria knew that was not the reason for this. Drama over men would have been addressed immediately and a phone call would be sufficient for that. No need for a face-to-face meeting.

"Are you going to tell me why you insisted I come here?"

Grace sat back in her chair and briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked directly at Victoria.

"I have something important to tell you."

Victoria just stared at her, waiting.

Grace sighed. "This isn't easy, but okay, here goes: I have cancer."

Victoria continued to stare at her, unable to speak at that moment. It took her several minutes before she said, "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I have cancer. God, I do not like saying those words."

"Do you think I enjoy hearing them? So, what…what sort of cancer? What are you doing for it?"

"It's kidney cancer. And there isn't much I can do."

Victoria bristled. "What are you talking about? There's a lot you can do! People are conquering cancer all of the time."

Grace shook her head. "It's stage three. I won't be conquering it."

Victoria tried to process that, tried to find a way not to have to process it. "Wait, you said _kidney_, right?"

Grace nodded.

"That's one of Greg's specialties. Nephrology. I found out that's kidneys. We'll ask him. He cures people all of the time. He'll take care of this."

"Tori, my doctor sent me to a nephrologist right away. He's the one who found the cancer. But it was too late. It's spread to the lymph nodes."

Victoria pressed her lips together, refusing to accept that there was nothing she could do about this. "Greg's friend, James – you remember, the best man – he's an oncologist. One of the best, according to Greg and he doesn't give out praise lightly. We'll talk to him."

Grace smiled at her cousin. "I called James. I remember that he told me he was an oncologist. I wanted to get an unbiased opinion. I even faxed him my records. Even he said there was nothing we could do."

"Wait, if he knows, Greg must know! They tell each other everything. And he didn't tell me!"

Grace shook her head. "No, I asked James not to tell Greg. I wanted to be sure I was the one to tell you."

Victoria was silent again. This couldn't be true. Grace couldn't be…

"How long?" She asked her. "How long until…"

"A few months."

"And there's nothing you can do?"

"I could do some chemo. But it won't eradicate the cancer. All it would do is prolong things maybe a few weeks, maybe a month or two."

"Then do it!"

"Sweetie, I would spend all the time I have left wiped out and sick from medication. If it's not going to save my life, I'd rather spend the time I have left enjoying it and the people that I care about."

Victoria glared at her. "How could you want to leave us earlier than you have to?"

"I'm leaving, would a few weeks really make a difference?"

Victoria turned away from her. She didn't know what to do or say. Suddenly, the room, the house felt stifling to her.

"I need to get out of here."

"Tori, please, don't."

"I'll be back, I just need to…get out."

She ran for the door and within seconds was out on Pine Street, looking at the lovely Philadelphia spring day.

Why were there blue skies? Why were birds singing? Why were people walking and laughing with each other?

She just started walking, not even sure of her direction. When she was finally aware, she saw the Chinatown gate at 10th and Arch Streets. She started wandering into the little shops, aimlessly picking up trinkets and putting them down again. She saw little embroidered slippers that would be adorable on Andra, but she didn't have the energy to select a pair.

Eventually, she headed south from Chinatown and soon found herself on South Street. Again, she drifted into the unique shops that existed in this bohemian part of the city. She also considered the multiple bars and clubs along the street.

Inevitably, she went into one of them, sat down at the bar and ordered a glass of wine. And also, inevitably, men approached her. She assessed each of them and even considered taking them up on the obvious offers they were couching in clever words.

What difference would it make? But somehow, she knew that having sex with a stranger would not help her lose this numbness she was feeling over Grace's announcement.

So after several glasses of wine and refusing several offers of sex, she left the bar and headed north again to Pine Street.

It was almost midnight by the time she walked into Grace's house, but her cousin was on the sofa, a book in her hand. She looked up when Victoria entered.

"Are you alright, Tori?"

"No. But I'm okay. And I'm here." She sat beside her cousin. "And I will be here for you. For whatever you need."

Grace smiled. "Right now, I need you to go to bed and get some rest. And in the morning, we'll talk some more. Okay?"

Victoria nodded and, together, they walked upstairs and went to bed.

They did talk more, over brunch.

"What do you need me to do for you?" Victoria asked.

"At the moment, nothing. I needed you to know. This week, I'll tell my father, but I don't expect much from that. And of course, he'll tell your father, so I wanted you to know first."

Victoria nodded. "What about Adam? Does he know yet?"

Adam was Grace's nineteen year-old son, a freshman at Penn.

A look of sadness passed over her face. "No, he doesn't know yet. I don't know if he'll care."

A typical teenager, Adam had had the normal disagreements with his mother. But when she tried to assert her authority over the boy, her ex-husband had intervened and Adam had chosen to live with his father. He'd been there for the past two years, although now he was living on campus. Grace rarely saw him.

"He'll care, Gracie. He's young and rebellious, but he loves you."

Grace nodded. "Well, we'll see. Anyway, for now, I just want to live my life as normally as I can. I know that I won't be able to after a bit, but for now, I'm fine.

"Okay." As she thought about it, Victoria asked, "What happened with Brian?"

Grace shrugged. "It just wasn't working."

"Does he know?"

"No reason to tell him. It was over."

Victoria saw a trace of sadness in her cousin's eyes. But she quickly recovered and looked at Victoria instead.

Grace said, "Can I ask you something? When you thought that Greg knew about me, you thought he should have told you. Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why should he have told you? You're divorced. He's not required to tell you anything."

"We're friends. We're civil to each other."

"Still, being friends doesn't mean he has to tell you everything."

"I know. It's just, oh, I don't know!"

Grace smiled at her. "Maybe it's because you'd like to be more than friends with him?"

"Grace, we're divorced."

"Oh, big deal. You're only divorced because you're too afraid to be hurt, not because you don't care about the man."

"Leave it, Grace."

"No, I won't leave it. I know I always do when you say that, but I don't have a lot of time to leave it in. I know you told me about your silly agreement with the man, but that doesn't mean anything. Tori, he's good for you. And he obviously loves your daughter. Why else would he have given up all that money to share custody of her? Please give him a chance. Please? For me?"

"Oh, don't play the death card with me! Whatever happens between Greg and I will be our decision, and not because you've guilted me into it."

"Alright, alright." Grace laughed.

They spent the next few hours talking about a lot of things, though Victoria tried to make sure the conversation stayed away from death.

When Victoria had to leave, she hugged her cousin and told her she would call her later. In fact, she was already determined to call her everyday.

It was a good thing that she knew the route home so well, because she was barely aware of the drive. Her mind was considering so many things.


	34. This Night Chapter 33

_**Chapter 33**_

_**But right now I just want to take what I can get tonight…**_

She arrived home late in the afternoon. House hadn't brought Andra back yet. She went to her bedroom and tried to get herself ready for her week, even though the thoughts of Grace kept swirling in her head.

It was later in the evening when she heard the door and realized that House was there with their daughter. She came out and saw him speaking with Anita.

"Anita, would you please put Andra to bed for me? I need to speak to Greg."

"Sure." Anita said. "Come on, pumpkin, let's go get your jammies on."

When they'd left, Victoria hesitated, not sure how to say what she wanted to say.

"What's up?" House asked.

"I was in Philadelphia this weekend. With Grace."

"That's nice."

"Actually, it wasn't. She, uh, told me that she, um, has cancer."

House just stared at her for a moment. "Wow, that sucks."

"Yes, it does."

"What kind?"

"Kidney."

He nodded. "Renal adenocarcinoma."

"Of course you would know that."

"From the smoking."

"What?"

"Most common cause of kidney cancer is smoking. Grace smokes."

"Oh, yes, right. How stupid! That stupid disgusting habit." She shook her head.

"What stage?" he asked

"Um, she said stage three."

"Is it in the lymph nodes?"

She nodded.

He winced. "I'm sorry, Vic."

"Thank you. I thought that maybe you would be able…but she said it wouldn't help."

"She's right."

"I know. Greg, could you do me a favor?"

He shrugged. "If I can."

"I have been numb since she told me. I don't know what to do, how to feel. I walked for blocks, for hours. Then I went to a bar and drank a lot of wine and was propositioned by a lot of men."

He gave her an odd look.

"No, I didn't go with any of them. But, I don't like this. The way I feel. Or rather that I can't feel. I don't want to be numb. I want to feel something, anything!"

"Sure."

"Greg, would you…sleep with me tonight?"

"What?" He was shocked.

"I don't want to feel nothing! I have to …I couldn't do it with those strangers. Not now, not for this. I need to know that I will feel something. I always did with you. Do you think you could…?"

He crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. She buried her head in his shoulder and he led her to the bedroom.

They didn't even know how their clothes came off, they were so anxious to get into bed. He moved on top of her, kissing and caressing her.

"Fuck me, Greg." She whispered. "Make me feel it."

He complied by moving his hands over her body, from her neck, to her breasts and lower. He pushed a finger inside her and she moaned. As she started to get excited, he removed the finger and started moving over her. He pushed himself inside and started thrusting.

She responded by moving with him and lifting her hips to meet his thrusts. Before long, they were both climbing to the peak and falling over it. When they did, he collapsed on top of her, completely spent. She closed her eyes and put her arms around him, holding him close to her.

Finally, they broke apart and he rolled over, laid back on the bed and pulled her close to him.

"Thank you, Greg." She whispered.

"Anytime."

"I didn't even think to ask if you're seeing anyone."

"I am, but it's not serious. We're not exclusive or anything."

"But you must like her."

"She's okay. It's not serious." He pulled her closer and asked, "What about you?"

"They have been the occasional man, but nothing important. I'm also reluctant to bring anyone here when Andra is here. I need to be careful about that."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. The woman that I, well, she's never met Andra."

She was silent, wondering why she had felt the need to have him sleep with her. Then she realized why. When he made love to her, he touched something deep inside her. Ever since Grace had told her, she felt that nothing could reach that. But Greg did.

House held on to her as he started to drift off. Then he felt something wet on his chest and heard a snuffling sound.

"Vic? Are you crying?"

"No." She said, her voice hitched and blocked with emotion. "I – " sniff, sniff "-- never cry – " sniff, sniff.

"Oh, right, I forgot. Baby, it's okay. Your best friend in the world is dying. If it were Wilson, I think I might be, well, you know."

She nodded, unable to speak as the tears that she hadn't ever shed in her life, came pouring out. He held on to her as she sobbed, not saying anything, just letting her cry.

Eventually, she cried herself to sleep and House slept as well.

In the morning, when he woke up, he hated to drag himself out of the bed, but he had to go home to get dressed for work and he had to be in the hospital. He slid carefully out of bed and pulled on his clothes.

Victoria, feeling suddenly cold, opened her eyes and saw House getting dressed.

"Greg?"

"Sorry. I need to go to work and I have to go home first."

She nodded, then rose from the bed and put on her robe.

"Greg, thank you for last night."

He smiled. "No problem. Well, I've gotta get out of here."

She nodded. He was about to leave, but then he turned back to her and pulled her close to him. His lips met hers, gently at first, then with more pressure. Her eyes closed at the sensation his kiss was giving her.

Finally, he broke away, turned and left. She just stood there, unable to move. Her fingers came up to gingerly touch her lips.

What the hell was that?

She'd had sex with this man more times and in more positions than she could possibly remember. They'd been married and had a child together.

So why did this feel like a first kiss?

House was maneuvering his car through the streets of Princeton, trying to concentrate on his driving, but his mind was far away. Well, not FAR away, just a few miles away.

In Victoria's bedroom.

He didn't know why he had kissed her before he left. Oh, he knew why he'd had sex with her. She asked him and, well, hell, she'd asked him. That was a no-brainer.

Okay, holding her while she'd cried had been a little girly for him, but she was pretty broken up about Grace. He was bummed as well. Grace was a cool lady.

But that kiss? Totally unnecessary. And totally different from any kiss he'd ever shared with her. Without even thinking about it, he touched his fingers to his lips.

Why did it feel like a first kiss?


	35. This Night Chapter 34

_**Chapter 34**_

_**I was dreaming of tomorrow, so I sacrificed today…**_

After House left, Anita came into her bedroom.

"Did I hear Doc?" The older woman asked her.

"Yes. He just left."

"And why was he here all night?"

"Why is that any of your business?"

"Because he's my friend. And if you're going to play games with him, I want to know."

Victoria sighed. "I'm not playing games. I needed him to be with me. I received some news in Philadelphia."

"What happened?"

"Grace has…cancer. She's dying."

Anita was shocked. "Oh, God, I'm sorry. Miss Grace is a terrific person. A real lady."

"Yes, she is."

"Are you okay?"

Victoria shook her head. "I'm still processing it. When I think of all of the times I could have been with her and I was too busy. She would call and say, 'Let's go to New York for the weekend.' Or 'I'm going to Paris, take some vacation time and come with me.' But I had too much work to do. I was so worried about my job and getting where I wanted to be."

"She understands. She knows how important it is for you."

"I don't know what's important anymore. Look at me. The only relationship in my life that really worked was with Grace and I'm going to lose her."

"Well, sitting here moping about it won't help."

"What will?"

"Spending at much time with her as you can before you lose her. If I had known that Joe was going to die that day, I would have spent every moment with him beforehand. But the night before, I was out with my sister and I didn't even get up that morning when he left for work."

"You couldn't have known."

"I know. But still. So go spend all the time you can with her. Do you want your coffee now?"

Victoria nodded. When Anita left the room, she thought about her words and an idea that had been in her head on the drive home the day before, gained clarity and momentum.

When Anita returned with the coffee, Victoria said, "You're absolutely right. I need to spend as much time with her now as I possibly can. I'm going to take a leave of absence from work and stay with her."

Anita blinked. "Really?"

"You don't think I should?"

"Oh, I definitely think you should. I'm just amazed that you would do that."

"Work will always be there. Grace won't."

Anita just smiled at her, not saying anything.

"What?" Victoria asked. "What's that look?"

"I'm really proud of you."

Victoria just shook her head. "Of course, now I have to think about Andra. I suppose I could bring her with me. But I'm afraid a toddler might be too much for Grace, especially when, well, you know."

Anita nodded.

"I could bring you along to take care of her."

The look on Anita's face said that she was not happy with that idea. But she said, "What about Doc? He's not gonna want to drive down to Philly every other weekend to be with his daughter."

"That's true. It will inconvenience Greg. But that's not the only reason you don't like it. What's the matter?"

She hesitated. "I'd really prefer to stay in Princeton."

"I thought your family was in Philadelphia."

"Yeah, but there's someone here that I'd rather be with."

Victoria looked blank for a moment, then as realization struck, "Oh, you're seeing someone."

"Yeah."

"Well. Then would you consider continuing to take care of Andralynn here while I'm in Philadelphia? With the help of the nannies, of course."

"Sure. That'll also work out for Doc."

"He might not mind taking her more weekends to give you time with your…friend."

Anita smiled. "But won't you miss her?"

"Yes, I will. Terribly. But I have a lifetime with her. I only have a few months with Grace. I need to do this."

"Then this is what you should do."


	36. This Night Chapter 35

_**Chapter 35**_

_**And a good captain can't fall asleep…**_

House decided to stop by to see Victoria on his way home from work. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed right.

Victoria was in her home office, but she came out as soon as she heard him, Lucy - her new assistant since Nathan had been promoted – trailing behind.

"Greg, I'm so happy you stopped by. I was going to call you. Lucy, you can finish those in the morning, but we'll be starting early, okay?"

"No problem, Victoria."

The girl left and Victoria poured a drink for House, then motioned him to sit on the sofa.

"I've been thinking a lot about Grace and the whole situation and I've made a decision. I'm going to go and stay with Grace until the end."

"You are? Wow."

"You don't approve?"

"It's not up to me to approve. I'm just amazed. What about your job?"

"I'm taking a leave of absence. I called my father and told him. He understands. Although he'd prefer me working, he believes it looks good for the family PR if I do this."

He gave her an odd look.

"No," she said, "That's not why I'm doing it. I've wasted a lot of time that I should have spent with Grace. I'll never make that up, but I can spend what time is left with her."

He nodded. "What about the Android?"

"I've decided it would be too much for Grace, so I'm leaving her here. Anita will take care of her. If you wouldn't mind, perhaps you can take her a little more often to give Anita some time. By the way, it turns out she has a boyfriend."

"I know."

Victoria was flabbergasted. "How did you know that?"

"I'm clairvoyant. How did you think I know? She told me."

She nodded. She really was out of touch with the people in her life. "Well, if you wouldn't mind helping her."

He was silent, considering it. "You know, the kid should have a parent living with her. As much as Anita cares about her, she's not her mother."

"I know, but I can't…"

"I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about me. I could take her full time while you're gone."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"She's my kid. Why should I mind?"

Victoria breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been uncomfortable thinking about her daughter being in the sole care of employees, no matter how wonderful Anita was. It was too reminiscent of her own childhood. Having Greg with her would be so much better.

"It would probably be easier for you if you stayed here. Then you wouldn't have to drive her here everyday or pick her up. Plus if you get called in to work, Anita would be here."

He thought about that. "Good idea."

"Greg, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

"When do you leave?"

"I need about two weeks to get some projects reassigned and such. Then I'll be gone."

"Okay, let me know the day and I'll be here."

Two weeks later, Victoria was packed and ready to drive to Philadelphia. House had arrived a little earlier and moved his stuff into the guest room. She wanted to tell him that he could stay in her room, but she didn't want to seem presumptuous.

House's plan – for as soon as she left – was to move into her bedroom. It was much more comfortable and had a TV.

She picked up Andra and hugged and kissed her.

"Mommy's going to miss you, sweetheart. But Daddy will be here with you. Okay?"

Andra hugged her back and Victoria reluctantly put her down.

She looked at House. "I really am going to miss her. I don't know how I'm going to handle not being with her everyday."

"It'll be okay. You'll see each other on the web cam every day. She won't forget you. I won't let her."

Victoria's eyes started to fill up. She went to House and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, Greg." She whispered.

He held her briefly, then as she started to break away, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

It was a kiss like that other one that had rocked them. The sort of kiss you share in the beginning of a relationship. The sort of kiss that holds a promise of so much more to come. The sort of kiss new lovers share.

It confused them both as they broke apart. Victoria stared at him for a long moment, before picking up her purse and walking out of the door.

When she got in her car and headed south, she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. What was going on? Why was she feeling so strange when she was with a man she'd known for over two years?

"So what exactly are you doing?" Wilson asked him.

"Taking care of my family." House replied.

"Victoria's not your family. You're divorced."

"The Android's my family. My daughter, remember?"

"You could have taken her to your place. Why choose to stay at your ex-wife's home?"

"It was just easier."

"I'll bet."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you slept with her?"

"Yes, Jimmy, 'cause that's where babies come from."

"I mean lately."

House didn't answer.

Wilson chose his words carefully. "House, you're taking care of Andra and that's great, it's what you should do. But if you're trying to reconnect with your ex, you need to be careful. She's a cold, manipulative woman and she'll use you to get what she wants. Don't let her."

"I'm doing what I have to do. What I should do. You're the one who's always telling me that I should reach out and help people! What is it, everyone except women I used to be married to?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know what I'm doing."

Dripping with sarcasm, Wilson said, "Yeah, you always do, don't you?"


	37. This Night Chapter 36

**_Wanting to hold you, but knowing you would not be there…_**

_**Chapter 36**_

_**I found that just surviving was a noble fight…**_

Living with Grace was not what Victoria expected. Her cousin had always been easy tempered and fun to be around.

She still tried to be, but there were times when she was melancholy and depressed. It was totally understandable. Still, it made Victoria sad. And as the days passed, there were more days like that.

Grace's visitors were less than Victoria would have expected. Which just went to prove how shallow the people in their set really were.

Grace's father made an obligatory visit once a week and stayed exactly twenty minutes, before kissing his daughter on the top of her head and leaving. Since her mother had died ten years previously, there was no one else.

Victoria's father made one visit soon after she arrived there, as did her mother (on separate occasions), but neither stayed long and neither returned as the weeks passed.

Drew started a Thursday night ritual of bringing food from some trendy little restaurant and hanging out with his sister and cousin for an hour or so. Grace was unable to eat much of the food, but she seemed to enjoy the company.

Drew was uncomfortable, but he forced himself to visit, mostly for his sister's sake.

Of the friends that Grace had accumulated through the years, none of them came. In the beginning, there were phone calls and promises to visit, but no one actually went through with it.

Grace's father had told Adam about his mother's condition. But being one of the spoiled rich children that Victoria hated, the most that he did was call his mother once to ask how she was feeling before telling her he had to be in class.

Victoria knew that hurt Grace very much, but she wouldn't allow Victoria to speak to him about it.

But every night, Victoria talked to her daughter on the web cam. The fact that her ex-husband was holding the child was a bonus. Grace always spoke to her for a few minutes as well.

Grace noticed how happy Victoria was during those web chats. And she knew it wasn't just because she saw Andra.

"Tori, why don't you let Greg know how you feel?"

"How I feel about what?"

"How you feel about him?"

"He's my ex-husband and Andralynn's father. That's all I feel."

"You know that you can't lie to me, don't you?"

Victoria was silent.

"Sweetie," Grace told her, "If this has done nothing else, it's taught me to cherish those I care about."

"Is that why you won't call Adam?"

"He knows what's happening. I can't force him to want to see me."

"I don't know, I think I may have ruined my chances with Greg when I pushed him out of my life."

"You don't know that."

Victoria just shook her head. "That's not for this moment. Right now, I have a question for you: What happened between you and Brian?"

"W-why are you asking that?"

"Because one minute you were madly in love with him, everything was wonderful. Then, all of a sudden, you've broken up. And I didn't get a phone call from you telling me what a bastard he was, how he dumped you or cheated on you or something. And every time I mention his name, you get a sad look in your eyes."

"It's over, Tori. Brian and I are over. It doesn't matter why."

Grace leaned back and closed her eyes. She did that when she was worn out and needing rest. Or when she just didn't want to talk anymore.

But it does matter, Victoria thought, And I'm going to find out why.

That afternoon, while Grace napped, Victoria left the townhouse and headed to a brokerage firm on Chestnut Street. She knew the name of the company that Brian worked for, since his firm had done some work for the Foundation. In fact, Grace had met him through Victoria.

She went to the sixth floor and directly to his office. Since she had worked with him, his secretary recognized her.

"Oh, Ms Marsden, was Mr. Charles expecting you?" she asked, looking at his calendar for appointments.

"No, he wasn't. I'm sorry to intrude, I'm sure he's busy. But I only need a few minutes of his time. I promise."

The secretary nodded and picked up the phone. After speaking for a few moments, she nodded, put down the phone and said, "You can go in."

Victoria walked into the office. Brian Charles was in his mid-forties, sandy brown hair, grey eyes and a fit body. He smiled when he saw his visitor.

"Victoria, it's good to see you. I wasn't expecting you. Is there a problem with the…"

Before he could start talking about business, Victoria interrupted him. "No, Brian, this is a personal matter."

"Oh?" he asked, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Would you mind telling me why you broke up with Grace?"

He hesitated, looked at the items on desk. "I didn't break up with her. She dumped me. We were…happy, I thought. Everything was great. Then out of the blue, she tells me we're through. No reason. We hadn't fought, I hadn't acted like a jerk or anything. We had just spent a great weekend in the mountains. I asked her why, what had I done. She said, nothing, it's just over. That was it."

Victoria nodded. Just as she'd thought.

"Brian, I'm going to tell you something, not because I expect anything from you, but because I think you have the right to know. And I think that if you don't find out now, you are going to be very upset later. And you'll demand to know why I didn't tell you."

"What are you talking about?"

Victoria took a deep breath. "Grace is dying."

"What?"

"She has cancer. She's dying. There's not that much time left."

"But..how..why…?"

"My belief is that she didn't want you to have to deal with it, so she broke it off when she was diagnosed."

The man was obviously in shock, unable to say anything.

"I really am not expecting anything from you. You are under no obligation and I will not think less of you if this is the end of it. I just didn't want you to find out after she's gone and be full of regret that you hadn't had a chance to say goodbye."

He looked at her and nodded.

"Should you want to see her, she's at her home. I've been staying with her. Goodbye, Brian."

He croaked out, "Goodbye, Victoria."


	38. This Night Chapter 37

**_Chapter 37_**

_**Don't you know my only real moments are the ones I spend with you…**_

It was early evening, when Grace's housekeeper, Judith, peeked in to Grace's bedroom.

"Miss Victoria, could I see you for a moment?"

Having a feeling she knew what this was, she nodded and went to the hallway, closing the bedroom door behind her.

"Miss Victoria, Mr. Charles is here. I know that he and Miss Grace haven't been seeing each other, so I wasn't sure…"

"That's fine, Judith, I'll take care of it."

The housekeeper nodded and left. Victoria went downstairs to find Brian standing in the foyer.

She went to him and said, "I'm so glad you came."

"I love her." He said simply. "When she dumped me, I tried to hate her, I wanted to hate her. But I couldn't. I love her."

Victoria smiled wistfully. "I know. Come on."

"Is there really no hope?" he asked as they went upstairs.

She shook her head.

He sighed. "Does she know that you came to see me?"

"No. But it will be alright, I promise. Wait here."

She went into the bedroom and closed the door. Then she went to the bureau and picked up Grace's comb and hand mirror.

"Gracie, you have a visitor. You'll want to comb your hair."

"Who is it?"

"It's a surprise. But take my word, you'll want to comb your hair. Maybe some lipstick too."

Grace gave her a look. "Tori, what's going on?"

"Don't be mad. You'll thank me, I promise."

Without another word, Victoria went to the hallway and a second later Brian walked in.

Grace lost her breath for a moment when she saw him. He hesitated when he saw her. She had lost so much weight and was so pale. But she was still his beautiful Grace. He went right to the bed and took her hands in his.

"Grace, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to have to watch me die."

"You silly girl. Don't you know how much I love you? Don't you realize how much I want to be with you for whatever time…?"

"I loved you too much to watch you be sad. You deserve better."

"No, I deserve you. I want you. And I am staying here, do you understand? I don't care if you want me here or not. I'll stand in the hallway if I have to, but I'm staying here."

She nodded, tears starting to fill her eyes. "I love you so much! And I missed you. The thought that I wouldn't see you again before I died, hurt so much."

"I'm not going anywhere." He pulled her into his arms and held her then.

Victoria was in her room, using the laptop to contact Greg and Andralynn. Since Brian was with Grace, reasserting their feelings, she was missing her daughter and – dare she say it? – Greg even more than usual. Of course she missed him. After all…

She stopped. Time to stop lying to herself and saying they were friends and all that other garbage.

She was in love with the man.

There was a knock on her door. Brian was there.

"She wants to talk to you."

"Uh-oh, is she mad?"

"No." he smiled. "Everything's good. If it's okay with you, I'm going to stay here until…well, you know."

"That's fine. You should be here."

He nodded. "I'm going to run home and get a few things. I'll be back in twenty minutes."

Brian lived only a few blocks away, so he was probably accurate.

Victoria went into Grace's room. Her cousin smiled at her.

"Tori, you should know better than to stick your nose in other people's business."

"Are you mad that I did?"

Grace shook her head. "No. I missed him so much. I'm glad he's here."

Victoria just smiled.

"But now I'm going to butt in to your life. Go tell Greg how you feel."

Victoria was taken aback. How did she know what she was just thinking?

"I don't…"

"That's right you don't. But the time has come sweetie. You love the man. Let him know. I really screwed this up and almost missed out on having the man I love beside me. Don't do the same."

Victoria bit her lip, thinking about what Grace said and wondering if she could.

"Tori, go and call him. Right now."

She shook her head. "No, I can't call him."

"Tori…"

"I can't call him. I have to see him. Right now."

"That's right!"

"Oh, but you…"

"I'm fine. Brian will be right back. And Judith is here. Go!"

Victoria only stopped in her room for her purse and her jacket and then she was on the road heading to Princeton.


	39. This Night Chapter 38

_**Chapter 38**_

**_When you love someone, you're always insecure…_**

Back in Princeton, House found it much easier to take care of his daughter with Anita and the nannies helping out. He knew he should look into hiring someone to help him out when he had Andra.

It was a relief especially to not have to get the baby up and dressed to bring to the hospital when he got called in to work. With Anita there, it was a lot easier.

In fact, he asked her if she wouldn't mind entertaining her "friend" at the penthouse so that she'd be there if he got called in. She didn't mind and Sean certainly enjoyed the luxury surroundings.

The nightly webcam chats with Victoria were good for Andra. It wasn't too bad for him either. He liked seeing her. She was not as buttoned down now as she usually was. He could see that the stress of caring for Grace caused her to unbend a bit.

He liked her this way and wished she'd come back so that he could explore it more.

House had worked all through the previous night, dealing with a patient who just refused to be correctly diagnosed. He'd finally solved it late that afternoon. When he'd returned to the penthouse, he ate the dinner that Anita had prepared for him and played with Andra for a little while.

But by the time nanny was putting the baby to bed, he was ready himself. He got in bed and watched TV for a few minutes, but before ten, he was asleep.

He was sleeping so deeply, the noise in the room didn't wake him up. Neither did the movement on the bed.

What finally woke him up was the feel of a hand on a certain part of his anatomy. At first, he thought it was part of his dream. Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johanssen were competing to see who could get him off first.

Take your time ladies, he thought, there's plenty of me to go around.

But he started to wake up and as Angelina and Scarlett faded away, the wonderful sensation did not. It fact, it got more intense, as his boxers had been pushed down and there was now a mouth where the hand had been. He opened his eyes and blinked when he saw the back of Victoria's head.

"Vic? What are you doing?"

She stopped for a moment to look at him. "Well, if you don't know, then, who are you and what have you done with Gregory House?"

"I mean, why are you here?"

"Do you want me to stop and explain or continue what I'm doing?"

"By all means, continue."

She did.

When they were finished, she lay back and he turned to her.

"What are you doing here? Other than me? Is it Grace? Is it…over?"

"No. But it won't be too long."

"That sucks."

"Yes, it does." She said with a sigh.

"So what are you doing here? It's late for you to be driving alone on the turnpike."

She was touched that he was concerned. She thought about what she wanted to say to him. They were words she had never said to a man before. She wasn't quite sure how to do it.

"I needed to see y…uh, Andra. The web cam just wasn't enough. I missed her."

She wanted to kick herself. Why couldn't she say it?

"Oh, sure, you missed the kid. Of course you did."

He wanted to give her a shove. Did he want her to say she missed him? Of course he did. Because he'd missed her.

"Why? Did you think it was something else?"

"No. You missed your daughter. Perfectly understandable."

He knew he could say it to her, start the ball rolling and see how she responded. But he had tried that once before and had been shot down. No, this time the ball was in her court.

She wondered if he was expecting her to say something else. Maybe she should just say it.

"Greg…" she started, but he didn't hear her.

"I had a tough day and I'm really beat. Thanks for swallowing the salami. If you're hungry again in the morning, there's more where that came from."

"You're welcome." She said as he turned over and went back to sleep.

In the morning, she found the roles reversed, as he was nibbling on her breasts. She happily moved into position when he climbed on top of her.

As he was banging her, he was cursing himself. He'd wanted to play it cool, to let her come to him. But there she was, naked and hot and here he was with one part of his body awake before his mind was and so his resolve was put aside.

Then they finished, he pulled away and climbed out of bed.

"I should get to work."

She nodded, feeling a lump in her chest. Stupid, Victoria, she told herself. You're just too stupid. All he wants is sex. Once again, love wasn't in the cards for her.

He got dressed and left for the hospital.

Once she was dressed, she went to the kitchen. Anita was surprised to see her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wish everyone would stop asking me that. I do happen to live here. I'm the one paying the bills, in case you've forgotten."

"Don't be smart. You know what I mean. Is it Miss Grace?"

"Yes and no. She's still with us, but her—the man she'd been involved with came back."

She briefly told Anita about what had happened with Brian. Anita put her hand on her chest when she was finished, tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh, that's so sweet! SO wonderful that they got together again before she...dies. So you left them to have some alone time."

"Yes. That and I wanted…oh, it doesn't matter."

"What did you want?"

"I said, it doesn't matter."

"Hmmm,"

"What is that about?"

"Nothing. Just hmmm. And did you do what you wanted?"

"I said it was nothing."

"Guess you didn't then."

Victoria just sipped her coffee.

"You know, if you never open your mouth and actually say what you want for your life, you'll never get it."

Victoria glared at her and left the kitchen. She spent the rest of the day with Andra, giving the nanny the day off.


	40. This Night Chapter 39

_**Chapter 39**_

_**And I would choose to be with you…**_

When House came home, he was surprised to find her there.

"I thought you would have gone back to Philly."

"I decided to leave in the morning."

He nodded and was about to find something to do to avoid her, when Anita came in and interrupted them.

"Well, since you're both here, this is a good opportunity for Andra to spend time with both of her parents."

They both looked at her with questions on their faces.

"She misses her mommy. And she never gets both parents together. Do something with her tonight. Take her to Chuck E. Cheese."

"Chuck E. Cheese?" Victoria asked, totally confused.

"It's true she loves it there." House agreed.

"What is Chuck E. Cheese?" Victoria asked him.

"It's a kid's dream and a parent's nightmare. Haven't you ever taken her there?"

Victoria shook her head.

"Well, you are about to experience a new level of hell. But your daughter will be happy."

"Okay. Should I change my clothes?"

House looked at her designer jeans and t-shirt and shook his head. "It's not a five star restaurant. You're fine."

They went in his car, since Andra's car seat was already in it. They pulled up to a brightly colored restaurant. Victoria watched lots of children running happily for the door, while their parents or caretakers dragged behind.

Once they were inside, Victoria was amazed. Children ran around freely. A young woman in the restaurant's uniform, stood by the door and asked for her hand. When Victoria offered it, the woman stamped it, then did the same with House and Andra.

"What is this?" she asked.

"That's so that no one walks out with our kid."

"Oh? Oh! That's actually a very good idea."

"Yeah, how about it?"

They put Andra into the ball pit and she immediately began to laugh and crawl around, tossing the colorful balls.

"Isn't that a bit unsanitary?" Victoria asked.

"Relax, she's fine. I'm a doctor, I know these things. Watch her, I'll go order the pizza."

"Pizza? Oh, all right." She said as he walked over to the counter.

He returned and they watched as Andra mastered the ball pit, then started crawling through the tunnels. House saw a table empty near the play area and he snagged it.

They sat down and a few minutes later, the pizza arrived. House had already filled their drink cups (coke for him, iced tea for her, milk for Andra). He took a slice of pizza and cut it into small pieces for Andra. Excited, she picked up the pieces and ate.

Victoria was amazed. She wasn't even aware that her daughter liked pizza. As for herself, the sort of restaurants she went to didn't usually serve pizza like this. It was usually gourmet, with interesting toppings and sauces. This was thin crust, plain tomato sauce. House had ordered half plain, half pepperoni.

"Do you like pepperoni?" he asked her.

"I don't know."

He handed her a slice of pepperoni with a grin. "Give it a try."

She licked her lips and then took a small bite of the pizza. She only tasted the tip of it.

"You need to try more than that. You didn't even get any pepperoni. Come on, Vic, be daring."

She took a larger bite and this time bit into the reddish brown disc on top of her pizza. It was salty and a little greasy, but very tasty.

"This is good!" she said in amazement.

"I can't believe you've never had pizza. Did you grow up in a cave?"

"Almost. My mother does not believe in fast food. If a restaurant does not have an acceptable wine list, it is not worth anything. When she did take us out, it was always to very nice restaurants. And my father always had to outdo her, so of course he did the same. And since I never ate there as a child, why would I go as an adult?"

"You may think you had a privileged upbringing, but in my eyes, you were deprived."

She smiled. "Well, at least it seems that Andralynn will not be deprived as I was."

"Not with me around she won't."

They finished eating and gave the child some more time in the ball pit. Then House took her over to the skee ball. With her laughing and standing in front of him, he threw the balls, garnering enough points to have tickets pop out of the machine.

"What's that?" her mother asked.

"Prize tickets. You'll see." He played more skee ball, then moved to some of the other games. By the time he was finished, he had a fistful of tickets and Andra was noticeably dragging.

"Okay, Android, time to go."

She tried to protest, but she didn't have enough energy. They walked to a counter that had a variety of small toys displayed. While Victoria held the little girl, House gave the tickets to the attendant, who put them into a big machine that counted them and announced how many he had earned.

"We've got enough for a stuffed animal. Which one do you want, Android?"

"Want Chuck E." Andra said, pointing to the stuffed replica of the restaurant's mascot.

"You already have a Chuck E. We got him last time." House told her.

"Want CHUCK E." Andra insisted.

"Okay, guess he'll have a twin brother. He pointed to the stuffed doll and the attendant handed it to the child, who immediately clutched it in her arms.

"You still have twenty tickets left." The teenager helping them said.

House looked at Victoria and Andra. "What would Mommy like?"

Victoria laughed. "Nothing. Pick something else out for Andra."

"Nope. Mommy needs a souvenir of her first time here. What do you think Android? What should we get Mommy?"

Andra looked at the items in the case and pointed. "That, Daddy, get that."

'That' was a toy ring with a large pink plastic stone.

"Okay, you're the boss." He nodded at the teenager and when he got the ring, said to Victoria. "Give me your hand."

"Greg, this is silly."

"Yeah, it is. I have a feeling you could use a little silly right now." He looked deep into her eyes as he spoke.

She felt that lump in her stomach again as she nodded and held out her hand. He slipped the toy ring on her third finger.

They went home after that. Andra fell asleep on the way and they put her right to bed, then went to their bedroom.

"What time are you leaving?" House asked her.

"As soon as rush hour is over. The traffic will be easier then."

He nodded. They both got ready for bed. They both considered sex, but after the cold, impersonal coupling of the night and morning before, neither was anxious for a repeat. They climbed into bed and lay there in silence.

"How much longer? With Grace I mean?"

"Days. Maybe a week or so. At least that's what the hospice workers tell me."

"She in much pain?"

"A little. They do give her medication for it, but so far she hasn't had enough to really make her out of it. She's just sort of fading away."

He nodded. "I know it's rough on you, but probably better for her."

"I know. I just don't know what I'm going to do without her."

He could hear the quiet desperation in her voice and he pulled her into his arms. She laid her head on his chest and just let herself absorb the strength he was offering. Eventually, they fell asleep, holding on to each other.

In the morning, as he got ready for work, she sat and watched him, wanting to say what she felt and wondering if she could.

"Greg."

He turned to look at her, blue eyes piercing her.

"Last night was wonderful. I don't think I've had so much fun with Andralynn …ever. Thank you."

"No problem."

"And thank you for …everything else."

He nodded and headed for the bedroom door. She jumped out of bed and ran after him.

"Greg, wait!"

He turned and she ran to him, putting her arms around his neck. He pulled her close and put his arms around her waist.

"I'm going to miss you." She whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He pulled back, looked into her eyes, then bent down and kissed her. It was one of those soft, sweet kisses that they had been sharing lately. It made her stomach do a flip. He started to pull away, but she pulled him back and kissed him hard and with all of the passion she was feeling.

When they finally broke apart, they stared at each other for several moments.

"Vic." He said simply.

"Give me a little time, Greg. There is so much that I'm feeling right now. I need to process it all. Can you just wait a bit?"

He nodded, then kissed her again and left. As the door closed behind him, she looked at the ring with the pink plastic stone that was still on her finger and smiled.


	41. This Night Chapter 40

_**How many nights have I been lonely without you?**_

_**Chapter 40**_

_**We're not the same, don't leave me now…**_

When Victoria returned to Philadelphia, it seemed Grace had deteriorated much quicker than before. But she was peaceful and happy. Having Brian beside her was probably responsible for it.

The only thing that bothered her was Adam's continued absence. Still she made Victoria promise not to contact the boy.

Victoria knew something had to be done. Eventually, when Adam was old enough to realize, he would bitterly regret not saying goodbye to his mother. But she couldn't break her promise not to contact the young man.

But there was someone else who could.

She went for a walk with her cell phone in hand. She had to be sure Grace did not overhear what she was doing. She had looked up the number before she left the house.

When Richard Taylor answered the phone, she identified herself. "Richard, this is Victoria Marsden."

"Yes, Victoria, what is it?"

Richard was not the nicest of men even when he'd been married to Grace.

"Do you know about Grace?"

"That she's dying? Yes, I know."

"Do you also know that Adam has not been to see his mother?"

"He's nineteen, he's an adult. He makes his own decisions."

"Come on, Richard, he's nineteen. He may be an adult legally, but he doesn't understand. Do you really want him to wake up at age thirty or forty and realize that he never said goodbye to his mother?"

"It's not my business."

"Damnit, it is your business! He's your son. I can understand if you have no feelings for Grace, but she's still your son's mother. And let me ask you: How would you feel if you were dying and he didn't come to see you? Or should I ask, how will you feel? Because that bitterness will extend to you."

Richard was silent. Victoria waited, not sure what he would do or say.

"I have to go, Victoria."

"But…"

"Goodbye."

She almost called him back, but there was really no more to say to him. He would either do something or he wouldn't.

In the meantime, she stayed by Grace's bedside and watched a lovely woman waste away.

Brian was taking it hard. A few times, he left the room and Victoria heard the front door slam. The first time it happened, she thought he'd left for good, but he came back. He always came back. He just needed to walk away for a bit and compose himself.

Victoria was afraid to go to sleep, afraid that Grace would slip away while her eyes were closed. Brian felt the same, so they took up chairs by her side and they would each doze separately, with the understanding that if the end was near, they would wake each other.

Visitors came. Grace's father, realizing he would soon lose his daughter, came daily and stayed for a longer time. For the first time in her life, Victoria saw pain on her uncle's face.

Her own parents came as well, as did Drew. A few friends finally made appearances. Victoria was getting used to people coming to say a final goodbye. So when the bedroom door opened one evening, Victoria was too tired to even look up.

Until she heard the gasp.

She turned her head and saw Adam Taylor standing there. As he gazed at his mother, a look of desolation appeared.

She went to him and took his hand.

"Aunt Tori, I didn't expect…I didn't realize…Oh, God!"

She enveloped him in a hug. "I know, Adam, it's awful. But she'll be happy that you're here. Go ahead, go to her."

He nodded, and trying to compose himself, approached his mother's bed.

Grace's eyes were closed. She hadn't heard the whispers, even though she realized someone had come in. There were so many visitors lately. Slowly she opened her eyes.

And saw her son standing there, his face ravaged with pain.

"Adam." She said in a voice barely heard. "You came. Oh, honey, thank you."

Adam had to swallow hard to control the emotion. "Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, honey, you're here now." She reached out her hand and he took it.

From then on, Adam was part of the group at her bedside. He refused to leave. Even her housekeeper, Judith – who had worked for her for over ten years – stayed in the room.

They would take turns going out for food or to get cleaned up, but wouldn't leave for long. Until Grace requested alone time with each of them.

Victoria didn't know what she said to Adam or Brian, but when she sat alone with her cousin, Grace grasped her hand with as much strength as she could muster.

"Tori, you don't know how much I appreciate what you've done for me. Not only being here with me all of this time, but bringing Brian and Adam back. Having the chance to be with them now, has been unbelievable."

"It's okay…"

"No, it's wonderful. But you have to do one more thing for me."

"Anything, Gracie, what do you need?"

"I need for you to know and understand love."

"Grace…"

"No, this isn't the time to fight with me. I'm about to die, but the one thing I don't regret is that I was able to love. It didn't always work out, but while it did, it was glorious. And Brian is here and I almost kept him away. You realized that was wrong for me. Why can't you realize that it's wrong for you?"

"I'm not you."

"No, you're much stronger and smarter. Be smart about this. Tell Greg you love him. Be a family with him and your daughter. Don't live in fear. Please, Tori. I'll rest happily if I know you're gong to be alright.'

"I'll be alright. I promise." She said, twisting the little toy ring that she wore on her finger all the time.

When the end finally came they were all there. Brian was leaning back against the headboard, holding Grace as she leaned against his chest. Victoria was sitting on her other side, holding her left hand. Adam was in a chair by her side, holding her right hand. Judith was across the room, in a chair, knitting.

Grace smiled at all of them. "I love you all so much. Thank you."

Then her eyes closed. At first, everyone thought she was just napping, as she did so often. But then Victoria felt he hand go slack in hers and she looked at her cousin.

"Brian." She whispered. He looked up and when he saw her face, he looked at Grace and realized it was over.

Victoria ran out of the room. She had to get out of there. Right now. She didn't care what time it was, hell, she didn't know what time it was. She headed for the front door.

It was dark out, and despite the street lights, she was disoriented and her vision was blurred with tears. And she ran smack into someone on the street outside.

She screamed when the man's hands grasped her shoulders.


	42. This Night Chapter 41

_**Chapter 41**_

_**Because you're the one that I depend upon…**_

"It's okay, Vic." She heard in the darkness.

She collapsed in relief against House and his arms engulfed her.

"What are you doing here, Greg?"

"You said it wouldn't be long and I thought you might need someone here for you."

She hugged him tighter. "That's so …wonderful! I can't believe you would do that for me. Drive all the way down here."

He shrugged. "Not a big deal."

"What about Andralynn?"

"Anita's taking care of her."

She nodded.

"So, how is it going?"

"She's gone. It just happened."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks. Come on, let's walk. I can't go back in there right now."

They headed slowly down Pine Street and around the small streets.

When they got to a park, House said, "Can we stop for a bit? My leg can't do that much walking."

"Of course, I'm sorry."

They found a bench and sat down. Without thinking, she rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Has it hit you yet?" he asked her.

"No. I don't think it ever will."

"Probably not."

They sat there in silence, listening to the sounds of the city at night and thinking about the changes that were coming and wondered how many of them would be in their relationship with each other.

Finally, he spoke. "What do you need me to do?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I need you to leave."

"What?"

"You can't know how wonderful it is that you came here at the exact moment that I needed you. But the next few days are going to be an insane asylum and the inmates are all related to me. It's going to be hard enough making sure the funeral isn't a media circus and follows at least some of Grace's wishes. It's going to be that much harder to do if I have to deal with my family's questions and complaints about you being there."

He stared at her for a long moment. "I don't fucking believe it! You're still doing this bullshit with your family. I thought that Grace's dying would have changed that."

"Greg, it's not like that."

He looked down at the ground before asking, "Do you want a future with me?"

She didn't hesitate with her answer. "Yes."

"Well, at some point, aren't you going to have to tell your family?"

"Of course. But if I tell them now, that's all they'll focus on. And right now, the focus should be on Grace. I can't afford to let them get sidetracked."

Logically, he understood what she was saying. But he had just driven all the way to frigging Philadelphia to be with her at her moment of grief and now she was sending him home again

He stood up. "Fine. If you want me to leave, I'll leave. Let's go, I want to get on the road."

"You don't have to go right now. We could spend the night together, and then, in the morning…"

"No, Vic. I'm through with being your sex toy. As great as the sex is, it's not working. So, I'm leaving, as you requested. And I'll see you in Princeton."

They walked back to Grace's house in silence and he waited until she opened the door and stepped inside.

"When will you be home?" he asked.

"A few days."

He nodded. "Fine, I'll move out before then."

She started, "Greg…"

But he walked away. She touched the little ring one more time, as the tears began to run down her face.


	43. This Night Chapter 42

_**Chapter 42**_

_**I know there is no one that can save me from myself…**_

The next few days were torture, but somehow Victoria got through it. Her family, as predicted, tried to turn the funeral into a society event. It took all of her power to rein them in and make it the simple ceremony that Grace had hoped for. Well, almost what she'd hoped for. And even she had known that there was only so much you could do when the Marsdens got involved.

She wished she'd let House stay. Having him beside her would have made things a lot easier. But she had sent him away. And she was afraid that he wouldn't come back. He'd seemed really upset when he left.

The day after the funeral, Victoria packed up all of her belongings and loaded them into her car. She had said goodbye to Brian and Adam the day before and she bid farewell to Judith, realizing the woman would probably get another job now and she'd never see her again.

When she arrived back in Princeton, she found Anita in the penthouse with Andra. It was wonderful to be home with her daughter again and she held the child. But Andra squirmed and wanted to get back to the video she was watching.

She wasn't sure what to do next, then thought she'd take a chance and call House.

When he answered his cell, she said, "Greg, I just wanted to let you know that I'm back in Princeton."

"Okay. How did everything go?"

"It was a wild mess, but we got through it."

"Good."

"Maybe you'd like to come over tonight? We could take Andralynn out? Or we could just stay here and eat?"

"Sorry, I have plans."

"Oh. Plans as in a date?"

"Sort of."

"Oh. Well, then, enjoy yourself. Let me know when you want to take Andra."

"Yeah."

They hung up. He didn't know why he made her think that this was a real date, when actually it was a favor for Wilson. The woman he was currently seeing had a visiting friend and wanted to take the woman to dinner and begged Wilson to find an escort for her friend. Wilson, in turn, had begged House to help him out. House had finally complied, but was not looking forward to it.

Plus, he had assumed Vic would be home today and he did want to see her. So why did he let her think that he was dating? Maybe because of the way she brushed him off. Let her suffer a little bit.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay home?" Anita asked her.

"No, go with your boyfriend. You've been taking care of Andra so much lately and you deserve the time off. I'm here, everything will be fine."

Anita reluctantly agreed and left. Victoria spent time playing with the child, even though her daughter kept asking where Daddy was. Finally, it was bedtime and Victoria read a storybook to her, before the child closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Victoria poured a glass of wine and wandered around the apartment, wondering what she should do now. The place seemed so empty now, even more so than right after House left. She finished her wine and poured another glass. What had she done before Greg House when she was alone?

She had called or emailed Grace. That thought caused her to drain her glass and pour another.

Well, she didn't always call Grace. Sometimes Grace wasn't home. Then she had done some work. But since she hadn't gone back to the office yet, she had no work to do.

A few more glasses of wine later, she realized that she had better go to bed. She could get up in the morning and return to work. That would be the best thing for her. She headed for her bedroom and changed into pajamas.

She climbed into her bed. But instead of making her sleepy, the wine – and everything else -- had her on edge. She tossed and turned several times, but couldn't fall asleep.

She really needed some sleep. She needed to reclaim her life and she had to get some rest. Then she remembered that she had some Valium in her bathroom from some time ago. One of them would help her take the edge off and go to sleep.

Anita let herself into the apartment. Sean thought she was a worrywart, but she had a feeling that she needed to return home. She had learned a long time ago to trust those feelings.

As she entered, she heard Andra crying. She ran to the child's room.

"What's wrong, pumpkin?"

"Scary dream, Nita. Mommy didn't come."

"Okay, okay." She picked up Andra's favorite doll and handed it to her. "Here, why don't you play with your baby for a minute. I'm going to go see Mommy."

Anita rushed to Victoria's room. Victoria was laying on her side across the bed. Anita immediately listened for a heartbeat and breathed a sigh of relief when she found one.

"Victoria. Victoria! Wake up! " It didn't matter what she said, her employer was out cold.

She assessed the situation and made a quick decision. She pulled out her cell phone and hit one of her speed numbers. When the call was answered, she said, "Doc, you have to get over here now. Something's wrong with Victoria. I can't wake her up."

Faster than even he could believe, he made it to the penthouse and let himself in. He rushed to the bedroom, where Anita was still trying to rouse Victoria.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"I was out. I came home and found her like this."

House took her pulse. It was slow, but steady. She was on her side, which was good. He checked, but she hadn't aspirated. If she'd been on her back, she might have and that would have been bad news.

He saw the wine glass and figured she'd had more than a few glasses. Still, she should be responding. He looked around the room and saw the pill bottle on the floor.

He picked it and when he saw what it was, he said, "Shit."

"What?" Anita asked.

"Valium. They're pretty old. What did she get these for?"

Anita looked at the bottle. "Wow, that was like just after we moved here. She was under a lot of stress. New job, new city. So the doctor gave them to her so that she could get some sleep."

"How many did she take then?"

"She took them for about a week. Then she said she didn't like the way she felt and stopped. Right after that, she started seeing you."

He looked at the bottle. She'd been prescribed a two-week regimen of pills. If she took a week's worth, there should have been about six or seven left. The bottle was empty, but it was also open on the floor. He poked around with his cane and found four pills laying there.

So at the most, she took three, maybe only two. Two 5 mg valium pills with several glasses of wine would definitely lead to this condition.

He could take her to the hospital. Or he could just let her sleep it off. With him beside her, he could monitor her, in case anything went wrong.

He had a feeling she'd rather be here than in a hospital. He arranged her more comfortably on the bed, put a blanket over her and leaned back against the headboard. He picked up the TV remote and settled in to watch Victoria and the tube.

Six hours later, Victoria's eyes fluttered open and she saw House sitting there.

"G-Greg? What happened? What are you doing here?"

"Saving you from suicide."

"Suicide? What are you talking about?"

"Wine and sleeping pills? Sound familiar?"

She sat up and looked around. "I don't remember…wait, I did drink some wine, but I was still worked up, so I decided to take a sleeping pill so that I could rest."

"A pill? More than one."

"How many?"

"Two or three, at least."

"Did I? I didn't mean to do that."

"Oh, that's okay then. You didn't mean to almost kill yourself while your child was asleep in the other room. You didn't mean to put yourself into a drugged stupor and leave your child with virtually no supervision. It's all okay, because you didn't mean to do that."

The tears started to fill her eyes. "Oh, God! I didn't think…I was just feeling stressed and lonely. And the wine, well, I guess I got a little buzzed from that and, oh, Greg, I wasn't trying to kill myself. Oh my God, Andra! Is she alright?"

He looked skeptical, but softened when he saw the dejected look on her face. "Yeah, she's fine."

"But maybe I should have." She said in a small voice.

"What?"

"Maybe subconsciously I was trying to kill myself, because I'm not really worth anything."

He gazed at her and saw the pain in her eyes. "Why would you say that?"

"I'm no good at this. My daughter would rather be with my housekeeper, you don't want me. The only person who thought I was worth something is gone. I lived my life for a stupid job. I should just take the rest of those pills and be done with it."

He couldn't believe that his beautiful, intelligent, self-assured Victoria was saying this. This wasn't like her.

"What are you talking about? Who said I don't want you?"

"I know I screwed things up when you were in Philadelphia. And now you're dating someone else. I've missed that boat."

"You silly person. You haven't missed any boat. My yacht is still docked. Though it wouldn't mind putting out into your bay."

She wasn't convinced. "You're dating someone."

"No, I'm not. It was a set up by Wilson and his girlfriend. I didn't even like her. Way too stupid."

"But what about that person you told me you were seeing?"

"Lost interest. Plus, it didn't seem right to bring her here."

She stared at him in wonder. "Really?"

He nodded.

"But what about Andralynn? She doesn't want to be with her own mother."

"Of course she does. She's just not used to being with you right now. You need to relax and stop trying so hard."

She was silent, thinking about this.

"Vic, I know that we had a weird start and now we're divorced, but I thought we were starting to…I don't know."

"I thought so too. But then you moved out when I came home."

He took a deep breath. "Vic, we rushed into this…whatever it is we have. We had sex almost the minute we met. Hell, we hadn't even met. Not that I'm complaining about that, but still. We rushed into marriage, having a baby and even into divorce.

"We never took any time to get to know each other or build a relationship. I know this sounds really girly, but if we don't take that time, I don't think we have a future."

She considered what he'd just said. She knew that she didn't really want to kill herself. She was just feeling depressed and lonely with Grace's death and thinking he was involved with someone else. His words made sense.

She looked at his blue eyes watching her. "I want a future for us. I want us to be a real family with out daughter. But I want it to last. So, yes, I am willing to take the time to make it work."

He smiled at her. "Okay, then, no more wine and pills?"

She shook her head. "No more wine and pills."

"And we start to get to know each other, really get to know each other, okay?"

"Okay. Does that mean no more sex?"

He thought for a moment, then said, "Well, let's not get carried away here."

"No, if you think we should be taking the time to get to know each other, we should abstain from the sex."

He pulled her close to him and whispered, "I can get to know you AND bang you at the same time. I am that good."

She smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you, Greg, for being here for me. Not just last night, but all of the times that I've needed you."

He just held her and thought about being there for all the days to come, if he could.


	44. This Night Chapter 43

_**Falling in love would be the worst thing I could do.**_

_**Chapter 43**_

_**I have been a fool for lesser things…**_

House had to go to work, although he wanted to stay with Victoria. But before he left, he told Anita: "Keep an eye on her."

When he called later, Anita told him, "She's fine. She played with the baby all morning, they had lunch together and then when Andra went for a nap, Victoria did too. No wine, no pills. Everything's fine, Doc."

Before he left work, he called again and talked to Victoria.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Really. I won't be so stupid again, I promise."

"Okay." He hesitated. "So, what about going out to dinner tomorrow night?"

"What?"

"Dinner? You and me? Eating?"

"Greg, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Kinda, I guess."

She smiled, even though he couldn't see her. She knew this was probably hard for him. The last time he had asked her out, she had refused him, even though they were sleeping together at the time.

"I would love to go out to dinner with you."

"Okay, cool. So I'll pick you up at seven."

"Alright. Where are we going? Should I dress?"

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, clothes can be optional. But I think the restaurant might complain."

She giggled. "I meant should I dress formally? Dress up."

"No way. Casual is good."

"Okay."

They ended the call, and House sat back in relief. Despite their talk that morning, he had worried about asking her to dinner. Would she go for it? Was she really interested in a real relationship with him?

And then there was the question of where to take her. She was a woman who constantly went to expensive, elegant restaurants. That would be old hat for her. He decided that something out of her usual sphere might be better.

This wasn't the deal she'd had with him before and she wouldn't be calling the shots. He would have some say and if she wanted to be with him, she would have to spend part of her time in his world. So he may as well show her what that world consisted of.

When he picked her, he was wearing jeans, a blue shirt and a tan sports jacket. She had agonized over what to wear, finally deciding on charcoal grey slacks and a pink cashmere sweater. And of course, her Chuck E. Cheese ring.

He looked her over. She looked gorgeous. But he secretly smiled when he saw the ring.

"I told you this was casual."

"This is casual. For me, anyway."

He smiled and nodded. Anita was babysitting and she was watching the two of them like a mother hen sending her chicks out for the first time.

"You two have a real good time and don't worry about Andra. She'll be fine with me. Stay out all night if you want."

House grinned. "Gee, Mom, that's cool. Are you going to give me some rubbers too for my date?"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Let's go, before this becomes more absurd than it already is."

They went to a little bar/restaurant that House enjoyed. The atmosphere was a little shabby, but it was family owned and the food was great.

A waitress wearing jeans and a band t-shirt brought them menus and took drink orders.

House ordered a beer, but Victoria opted for water.

"No wine?" he asked.

"At this moment, the thought of wine turns my stomach. I believe I'll stick with water tonight."

He nodded.

She looked at the menu and saw very basic foods. It wasn't that she didn't know what they were; she just wasn't familiar with them.

House saw her confusion. "Want me to order for you?"

"I'm perfectly capable of ordering my own meal." But her expression was still confused.

He smirked at her. "Do you want chicken, beef or fish?"

She thought for a moment. Should she trust fish at a place like this? "Chicken."

"Sauce or no?"

"No."

The waitress came to the table and House said, "She'll have the grilled chicken. I'll take the New York strip steak, baked potato and salad for both of us.

The waitress nodded and left.

Victoria looked at him with a bemused expression.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just can't believe I let you order for me. I never do that."

He shrugged. "Not a big deal."

"It always has been."

"Yeah, but it really isn't. Why do you think you make being in control of everything so important?"

"Because I've never been able to depend on anyone except myself."

"Time to let go and let other people in."

She tilted her head. "You are not a man who lets other people in either."

"I know. And I ended up in the looney bin because of it. So that didn't really work for me. And I'm sensing it's not working for you either. Hence, last night's little stunt."

"I told you, it was an accident."

"Yeah. But it's an accident you wouldn't have had if you'd open up a bit."

She considered this. "You're right. And I know I need to try."

He smiled at her. "Well, isn't that why we're here?"

She smiled back. "Yes, I guess it is."

The remainder of the date was a success. Victoria enjoyed her chicken. It was brushed with just enough herbs to make it very tasty. Her salad was crisp, the Italian dressing just piquant enough and her baked potato was done perfectly. And the Italian bread on the table was nice and crusty. A very good meal.

And the company wasn't bad either.

After that, they continued to "date" whenever they wanted. Sometimes, it was just the two of them, sometimes they took Andra out as well.

Sometimes when they came home, House spent the night, sometimes he didn't. They both knew that they had to take their time with the relationship, even in the sex department. But they couldn't totally deny themselves. There was too much passion between them.

All through this period, House wondered if he was doing the right thing. She had hurt him before and he knew she could hurt him again. But the idea of a life together with Victoria and Andra excited him and he knew he had to go for it, no matter the cost.


	45. This Night Chapter 44

_**Chapter 44**_

_**Either I'm wrong or I'm perfectly right every time…**_

It amazed Victoria at how well things were going between her and House. She had never really opened up to a man before. For the first time, she let herself feel and it was glorious.

She was still nervous about admitting her feelings to him, but she loved the time they spent together. Especially the times they spent with their daughter.

She learned from House that she didn't need to try to impress. That even though museums and such might be good for the child's development, the simple things they did together as a family were the most fun for all of them.

They had several return trips to Chuck E. Cheese. Andra loved it there and it was a quick and easy outing for them, requiring very little advance planning.

They were standing near the ball pit, watching Andra laugh and play. Victoria tore her gaze from her daughter to House. He was smiling at the child. The love on his face was so evident. She was entranced just watching him. How lucky was she to have this beautiful daughter and this wonderful man?

She put her hands around his arm and her head on his shoulder and without thinking about it, said, "I love you."

He glanced at her, placed his hand on top of hers and said, "I know," before turning back to Andra.

She stared at him. "What do you mean 'you know'?"

"I mean I know you love me. Look at her, she's crazy about those stupid balls." He laughed.

She continued to stare at him in amazement, not saying anything.

"Are you going to stare at me all night or are you going to watch the Android?"

She tore her gaze from him and back to her daughter. She felt like crying, but there was no way she would do that in public, let alone in front of him. As she continued to watch, holding herself very still to control her emotions, she felt his lips next to her ear.

"By the way, I love you too."

She turned her head to look at him, but his gaze was back on his daughter, although there was a little smirk on his face. She hugged him again and put her head back on his shoulder. His arm went around her and he hugged her close to him.

Victoria was surprised a few days later when her father sent her a message saying he wanted to see her. He rarely did that. So, of course she headed to Philadelphia to meet with him.

He sat at his large, beautiful mahogany desk. He didn't rise when she entered, not that she expected him to. He just lifted his eyes and nodded.

She sat in the leather chair opposite him and felt as thought she was in school again and about to be scolded for embarrassing the family.

She was not far off.

He cleared his throat before beginning. "Victoria, I've been informed that you've been seeing your ex-husband."

"Well, he is Andra's father. Of course, I have to see him."

"I know that. Although you could have cut him off there, if you had used the resources you have. Still, that's not what I mean. You've been seeing him socially."

"First of all, Dad, that's my business. And what does it matter anyway?"

He sat back and sighed. "Victoria, when you married that man, we knew that he wasn't suitable for you. But you were pregnant and it was the proper thing to do, so I did not protest.

"When you divorced him, I breathed a sigh of relief that you were smart enough to rectify an uncomfortable situation. But now, you're seeing him again. It won't do, Tori, it just won't do."

"I'm all the way in Princeton."

"Anything this family does, anywhere, is noted."

"You're actually telling me not to see Greg anymore?"

"Tori, more than anyone, I understand physical urges. And I'm not so foolish as to believe my children don't have them. Apparently your urges led you to Gregory House. I don't know why, but that's your choice. Still, there is the Victoria Marsden that the world sees and there is the Victoria Marsden in her private bedroom."

"You're saying sleep with Greg in private, but don't be seen together in public?"

"Your brother has mastered that art."

"What are you…?"

"I am not naïve, Victoria. I know about Andrew's proclivities."

"You know? You approve?"

Howard got a disgusted look on his face. "Of course I do not approve. I think it's vile and disgusting. But there is nothing I can do about it and he is my son. And as long as he is discreet about it, I won't complain.

"That is all I'm asking of you. Sleep with whomever you choose, just be discreet an don't embarrass the family."

"Dad, I can't just sleep with him and act like I'm not."

Her father was silent for a few moments, as he stared at his hands. Finally he spoke. "Patterson is retiring."

"Gene Patterson? Really?"

"Yes. Before the end of the year."

"Well, that is amazing. He's been with the company for such a long time."

"We'll need someone with management experience to fill his position. Someone with a proven track record."

She watched her father. "What are you saying, Day?"

"I was thinking that you might be the right person for that position."

"That's a management position." She said in a low voice.

"Yes, it is. Also, your Uncle Leland is talking about retiring as well. Oh, not immediately, but most likely within the next year or two. He is not taking Grace's death as well as he should be."

Anger flashed in her. "She was his only child."

"Of course, but death is a part of life and one must move on."

"Well, I'm happy to know you wouldn't grieve should something happen to me."

"Of course I would grieve, Victoria. But I am wise enough to put my grief into perspective and move on with life. At any rate, since Leland is CEO should he retire, your brother would move into that position, leaving the job of president open.

She stared at her father, unable to speak for a moment.

He continued. "You've done an excellent job at the Foundation. I believe you could do a good job at Marsden Industries as well. And eventually, when I retire – which will probably be within the next ten years – I could see you and your brother in the positions that Leland and I hold now."

She was still speechless.

"You would be the first woman to run Marsden Industries." Her father said.

"Dad, this is wonderful! I won't let you down. I will do a wonderful job, I promise."

"I know you will. However, as the first woman running the company, you will be under constant scrutiny by the board. Everything you do, personally as well as professionally, will be judged. And they will look for any excuse to prove to them that a woman does not deserve that position. If you bring even the slightest bit of negative publicity on the company, they will have that excuse."

She just stared at him.

"Add to that, the fact that I need your total focus on this job."

"Spell it out, Dad."

"Alright, I will. Sleep with Greg House if you must – in private. But for the world's view, cut him out of your life. That is, if you ever want to be in charge of Marsden Industries."


	46. This Night Chapter 45

**A/N: I wanted to take a moment to thank all my loyal readers. No, this isn't the last chapter, though we're getting close. But you guys have been wonderfully supportive of Victoria's journey to humanity. Have a little more patience as she faces the most important hurdle of her life.**

**_Chapter 45_**

_**And as for women, they don't last with just one man…**_

"You will never believe what happened!" Victoria told House excitedly that evening.

"What happened?" House asked, sitting back on the sofa in her bedroom.

"I had a meeting with my father today!"

"Wow, that is amazing." House told her.

"No, no, you don't understand. He offered me a job with the company."

"Really?"

"Yes. One of the directors is retiring and he offered the position to me."

"Wow, that really is amazing."

"And that's not all. He said that Uncle Leland might be retiring soon as well. Surprisingly, he's not taking Grace's death as easily as I'd believed."

"Understandable, I guess. Though I never thought any of them had that much feeling in them."

"Neither did I. But the thing is, if Uncle Leland retires, Drew will become CEO. That will leave the position of president open. And my father said he would like me in that position, so that when he eventually retires, Drew and I would be running the company, the way he and Leland do now. Isn't that amazing?"

House was impressed. "That really is. Just what you wanted."

"I know! I can't believe it!"

"Would you have to move to Philly?"

"Probably. Oh, don't worry, I'll find something in between Princeton and Philadelphia."

House nodded, genuinely feeling happy for her.

She paused in her elation to look at him. "There is one little thing, Greg."

"What little thing?"

"Well, my father found out that we've been seeing each other and he doesn't approve."

"Fuck him."

"Yes, yes, but the thing is, he feels that if I were to take an important position with the company, I need to make sure my public image is pristine."

"Yeah?"

"Well, he doesn't feel that being with you is good for that image. Especially, since I would be entertaining important people, attending important events and so on."

House looked at her in amazement. "Are you dumping me?"

"Oh, no. My father understands physical urges. He doesn't have a problem with us spending time together discreetly, as we did before. Just not publicly."

"You have to be fucking kidding me!"

"No, don't you see? We can still be together, just privately. And in a few years, when Drew and I are running the company, my father will have no say and we can be together however we choose? Don't you see? It's perfect!"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You have to be fucking kidding me!" he said again.

"Please, Greg, you have to understand. I've been waiting forever for my father to make this offer."

"And who's to say that once we break up, he won't take the offer away?"

"He wouldn't do that."

"Right, you can really depend on him keeping his word."

"Greg, that's silly."

"No, you know what's silly? You thinking that I would sneak around and scratch your itch when you need it, but not be a real part of your life."

"Greg…"

"You told me you loved me." He said quietly.

"I do love you."

He shook his head. "Not if you would ask me to do this, you don't."

She pleaded with him, "Greg, don't you understand? I can have the company and you. I can have everything I ever wanted!"

"Well, Vic, no one gets EVERYTHING they want. Sometimes you have to be willing to give something up."

Tears started to fill her eyes. "But…"

"No. I'd be willing to make adjustments in where we live and drive further to work. But I'm not spending the next few years sneaking around and pretending we're not together. That's not happening. You can have the job or you can have us. Your choice."

"That's not fair."

"And do you think what you're asking is fair to me? Or to our daughter?"

"Greg, I've wanted this job my whole life. We've only been together a few years."

He stared at her, hurt reflected in his blue eyes. Then he nodded. "Guess you've made your decision."

He got up and walked out.

She watched him leave. Why was he upset? He should be happy for her, shouldn't he? He should be glad that she was achieving all her dreams.

Then she looked down at the little toy ring with it's pink plastic stone and she felt as though she had just lost something that she would never be able to replace.

Later that night, he sat alone in his apartment, playing softly on the piano. He looked around. Some of Andra's things were around, even though she hadn't been spending a lot of time there lately, since he and Victoria had been together more. Guess now, she'd be here again.

He figured he'd have to think now about getting a larger place.

"Fuck!" he said, banging his hand on the piano keys. Then, he stopped. Why take it out on the piano? The piano was something he could depend on. He couldn't say the same thing about the women he'd known.

As he played a sad, bluesy song, he thought a lot about lost dreams.


	47. This Night Chapter 46

_**How many nights have I been thinking about you?**_

_**Chapter 46**_

_**I can't take it anymore…**_

James Wilson didn't know who was calling him at five a.m. It could be about a patient, but he didn't have any patients about to die at present. He reached out for the telephone.

"Hello?" he said in a voice that was barely above a croak.

"James, I'm sorry to bother you this early in the morning."

"Who is this?"

"I'm sorry, it's Victoria."

He hesitated. What did this bitch want? She had just stomped on his best friend's heart – again. Why was she calling him?

"Yeah." He said.

"I know Greg probably told you what happened the other day."

"Yeah, he did."

"So of course you think I'm a bitch."

"Well…"

"It's alright, you don't have to say it. You're absolutely right. But I need you to do something for me."

"Do something for YOU?" He was incredulous.

"Actually, you would be doing this for Greg, well, for both of us."

"I think you need to back up and tell me what you're talking about."

"Yes, of course. Alright, here is what I need."

And she proceeded to tell him.

When she was finished, he said, "I'll do it. But you realize with him, there are no guarantees."

"I know. But I have great faith in you. You'll find a way.

Wilson sincerely hoped he'd be able to.

Two days after Victoria had told House about her job offer, he was dragging himself into work. Dragging was the word, since he hadn't slept well the last two nights. His leg hurt and the pain relievers he was using just didn't do what the Vicodin used to. He told himself it wasn't because of a woman who dumped him for a big job. It was just his leg.

So bleary-eyed, he limped into the hospital and up to his office, where he dropped his backpack and collapsed on his easy chair, hoping he could catch a nap before anyone brought him any work to do.

But mere seconds after he had closed his eyes, he heard his office door open and footsteps.

"House." He heard Wilson's voice say, "You need to turn on the television."

"I don't need to do anything but sleep on this chair." House said, his eyes closing again.

"No, you really need to watch this." He looked at his watch. "And it's starting soon, so come on."

House glared at him, but his friend was so insistent, that he decided to see what he was up to. But not before he played with him a bit.

"Actually, I think the team has a case for me. I'd better go see…"

"No, you can take ten minutes for this."

"Cuddy may want me for clinic duty."

Wilson just gave him a withering look as he turned on the TV and searched for the right channel.

House shrugged. He knew that one wouldn't work. He watched as Wilson selected a local cable station that broadcast financial news in the morning.

"Why are we watching this shit?" House complained. "I thought you were turning on a monster truck rally or at least a naked woman."

"Shut up."

The announcer of the financial news program was running down the day's news. House yawned loudly and started to close his eyes again, when something the man said interested him.

"Locally, the Philadelphia financial community was shocked when Victoria Marsden announced her resignation from the Marsden Foundation. Here's the news conference, held an hour ago."

The scene shifted to a small group of reporters around Victoria.

"Great," House said, "Do you really think I need to hear her talk about the big job she's getting?"

"SHUT UP!" Wilson told him.

Victoria was speaking, glancing at the prepared speech in front of her. "Early this morning, I contacted my father to tender my resignation as director for the Marsden Foundation. I know that it was rumoured that I would be accepting a position with Marsden Industries, but that is not the case. At this time, I simply wish to spend more time with my daughter." She looked up from her notes. "And her father."

House sat up and watched the TV.

The reporters began asking questions.

"Ms Marsden, is your decision a result of a falling out with your father?"

"No. My relationship with my father is exactly the same as it has always been."

"Ms Marsden, were you pressured to leave your position?"

"No, this was my decision."

"Do you know who your replacement will be?"

"No. I will be sending my recommendations to my father and I am sure he will be making an announcement in the next few days."

"Will you be taking a position with another company?"

"At this time, I have no plans to accept any position."

"Were there problems with your staff?"

"No, my staff is excellent. Each and every one of them are professionals and I am honored to have had them working with me."

"Ms Marsden, you said you want to spend time with your daughter's father. But didn't you divorce your husband more than a year ago?"

"That's a situation I hope to remedy. Thank you all for your attention this morning. If you will all excuse me, I am going home." Victoria again looked directly at the camera when she spoke those final words, then left the room.

The scene cut back to the announcer, who started speaking again, but House blanked him out.

"I have to go." He told Wilson.

"Yeah, I thought you might."

Before Wilson could finish speaking, House was halfway down the hall.


	48. This Night Chapter 47

_**Chapter 47**_

_**To get at least as far as their old man got…**_

On the night when Victoria told House about her father's ultimatum and he stormed out, she watched him leave in amazement. But then reality settled in and she understood that she had perhaps taken a step too far. She sat on the sofa, thinking about it, wondering how she could make it all work.

Anita wandered in and stood in front of her.

Victoria looked up and the expression on the woman's face was not a happy one.

"I assume you heard what happened between Greg and myself?"

"You know I did."

"I also assume you do not approve."

"Not my place to approve or not approve of your life's choices."

"Then what is that look you are bestowing on me?"

Anita sighed and took a seat in the chair opposite Victoria.

"Well, I can't tell you what to do, but maybe you need to think about what you want from your life."

"I know what I want from my life. This is what I've wanted my entire life – to run Marsden Industries. This is my chance to make my dream come true."

"Then what?"

"What?"

"What happens after that? You get the job, you're running the company, what else do you have in your life?"

"I have everything I had before. Plus Andralynn."

"You think so?"

"Of course."

"That's a pretty high-powered job. Would take a lot of your time. Your daughter would end up being raised by servants like you were."

"Are you implying that a woman can't have a career?"

"Of course I'm not. But there are jobs and there are jobs. And there's also the fact that she would grow up with a father who actually takes the time to be with her instead of a mother who pushed him away so that she could have a job."

Victoria seethed. "I can do the job and be a good mother to my daughter."

Anita stared at her. "Right. 'Cause you were doing such a great job before Grace got sick."

Victoria turned away from her, trying to hide the emotion that she was feeling. She knew Anita was right. She'd been a horribly inadequate mother, while Greg House was a wonderful father. And what a strange thing that was!

Anita continued. "Think about what you want your life to look like thirty or forty years from now. When Andra's grown and off on her own. Who's gonna be there for you?"

Victoria spent a restless night. When she did sleep, she had her old nightmare again. She hadn't had it in a very long time. Her aborted child appeared and told her that she didn't deserve to be anyone's mother because she didn't know how to care for a child.

She understood that the dream was just a manifestation of her own insecurity. But the more she thought about the job she had always assumed she'd wanted, the more it seemed to lose its shine.

And the more she thought of a life without Greg House in it, the more depressed she got.

By morning, she had made a decision.

She placed a phone call to her father.

When he got on the line, she asked him straight out, "Dad, the position that you offered me yesterday, is that really a job offer or an interview?"

Her father hesitated. "Well, of course, it will be pending board approval."

"Why?"

"The board has to approve everything, Tori, you know that."

"You're the chairman of the board. And one of the owners of the company. When Drew got his position, you didn't ask the board, you told them."

"He's my son."

"And I'm your daughter."

"This is different."

"Yes, the difference is that I have a vagina."

"Don't be vulgar, Victoria."

"Dad, if I were male, I would have had a management position with the company a long time ago. And even now, you're holding this out to me as a reward for dumping Greg, but it's not a guarantee, is it?"

Her father was silent.

"Thank you, Dad, you've just answered my question. And I now know the decision that I'd already made was the right one."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't have to worry about going to the board, because I won't be going for Patterson's job. And you can consider this conversation my informal resignation from my position as Director of the Marsden Foundation. I'll send you my written resignation later."

"Tori, that's not necessary."

"Yes, Dad, it is."

She hung up and suddenly felt more liberated than she ever had before.

**A/N: Just to be clear, she was knew she was resigning when she made the phone call, no matter what her father said.**


	49. This Night Chapter 48

_**Chapter 48**_

_**I never lost anything I ever missed, but I've never been in love like this…**_

House made it to the penthouse in record time. When he got there, he found Victoria in the living room with Andra. She looked up when he entered.

He stopped and stared at her. "Is it true?"

"Do you think I lied?"

He just stood there.

"Well, I know everyone lies, but no, I didn't. It's true."

"It's not a ploy to get your father to give in to you?"

"My father doesn't work that way. He doesn't respond to threats like that."

He nodded, not sure what to say to her.

Anita came into the room and smiled when she saw him. She looked at Victoria and smiled again. Then she went to Andra and took her hand.

"Pumpkin, do you want to got the park with Anita?"

"Park! Park! Yeah!" the child started jumping up and down.

"And we can spend the WHOLE afternoon there. And maybe go to MacDonald's after."

"Yay!" Andra said.

"Maybe even go to see a movie."

The little girl started bouncing with excitement.

Anita looked at House and Victoria again. "Do you hear that? We're going to be gone the WHOLE day. So you two have a lot of time to do whatever you want to do. Do you understand?"

"We're not dense, Anita." Victoria said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I think I can take it from here, Hazel."

She smiled again and took Andra out the door.

"Subtle, isn't she?" Victoria said.

House didn't answer. He moved as quickly as he could across the room to her and pulled her into his arms.

He looked into her eyes and reached his hand up to caress her cheek.

"Did you do that for me?" He asked quietly.

"Not entirely. I knew if I jumped through hoops for him now, I would be doing it for the rest of my life."

He nodded.

"Greg, I'm sorry. It was stupid and selfish of me to even ask you to go along with what he wanted. I don't know why…"

"Shhh."

"But I want you to know…'

"I do know. And I agree, you were stupid. But you're smarter now. And I don't want to talk about it now."

"Why not? What do you want to do?"

He didn't answer; he just pulled her closer to him and kissed her gently. She closed her eyes and relished the kiss. Even after what she had decided and what she'd done that morning, she wasn't sure he would come back. She wasn't sure he'd ever kiss her again.

She put her arms around him.

He pulled back and stared at her. Then he touched her. He started with her hair, then moved to her eyebrows and her eyelids. She closed her eyes as he ran his fingers over them. His long fingers ran down her cheeks. When they reached her lips, she parted them automatically and his fingertips grazed them. He tongue came out and she touched them with the tip. They both sighed softly.

He moved on to her ears, skimming the outside edges, then lightly caressed inside. She felt a little shiver. He moved his fingertips down her neck and gently rubbed her shoulders.

Then his hands moved down her side and lifted her shirt up and over, tossing it on the floor. He did his little trick of removing her bra with one hand and had it laying there too. Then his hands moved to her breasts and his thumbs caressed her nipples. He tilted his head down and kissed her on the neck. She felt a large shiver then.

"We should move to the bedroom." She whispered to him.

"Shhh. No talking." He moved his hands again and found the waistband of her skirt, undid it and pushed it down until it pooled around her ankles. She was standing in front of him just wearing a pair of lace bikinis. His eyes moved down her lovely body.

For a moment in time, he was sure she was gone from his life and that he'd never have her again. But she was here. He was here. And all her lovely nakedness was there for him.

He reached out and pulled her close to him, then kissed her passionately. Her arms encircled his waist and she started pulling his shirt out from his trousers. Somehow they managed to get his clothes off, as well as her panties and they slid down to the floor.

He hovered over her and just stared for a while.

"What?" she asked.

"I thought I'd lost you. I thought we'd never be together again."

She shook her head. "I was stupid, but you didn't lose me."

He nodded, then bent his head to kiss her. His lips repeated what his fingers had done, starting at the top of her head and moving down to kiss every part of her. By the time he was sucking on her breasts, she was going crazy.

"Oh, God, Greg, please!"

"Please what?" he teased.

"Make love to me."

He smiled and slipped inside her and she sighed. But he kept his movements slow and gentle, until she was clawing at his back, wanting more. So he started moving faster, thrusting in and out, making her scream in ecstasy. As his thrusts grew harder, she started to build and he kept pushing it.

"Yeah, baby, come on. Come for me baby."

At his words, she let out a scream as she came, hard.

Her release prompted his, and seconds later, he emptied himself inside her.

As they lay there after, they spoke quietly about what had happened.

"One thing I don't get," he said, "Did your father make you quit the Foundation job if you didn't dump me?"

"No." she replied.

"Then why did you quit?"

She sighed and cuddled in closer. "Because if I continued to work for him, I would always be a slave to the Marsden family image. I would always have to play the game. I didn't want to play it anymore."

"So what happens now? Are you looking for another job?"

"Maybe. But not just yet. I need to reassess and get my life straight. Decide what I want to do."

"So you're unemployed? Guess I'm the breadwinner here now."

She laughed. "I'm not about to apply for welfare. Though I may sell this place."

He looked at her. "Are things that bad?"

"They're not bad at all. I've worked for my father since I got my masters and I did collect a salary. A very good one. And I know enough about business to know what to invest it in. So I have plenty of money. Not to mention a trust fund from my grandmother."

"So why sell?"

"This apartment doesn't reflect the life I want to have. It isn't the sort of place one should raise a child in. I want to buy a house with a backyard, near a good school. A PUBLIC school. I'm not sending her to any snooty private school where she will learn to be just like every stuck-up girl I ever knew."

He stared at her now. "Okay, who are you and where is Victoria?"

She smiled. "I've changed, Greg. I've really changed."

"Will you have to fire Anita? Start cleaning and cooking yourself?"

"Lord, no! I haven't changed that much. I still hate doing those things. That will NEVER change. I have enough money to pay Anita to do that."

He chuckled. "Okay, there she is."

They lay there like that, just holding each other, happy to finally be together.


	50. This Night Chapter 49

**_Chapter 49_**

_**I don't want to see another rainy night without you lying next to me…**_

Victoria was true to her word. She immediately put the penthouse up for sale and began looking for a house in a good neighborhood. With hopes that House would want to share it with her, she concentrated her search on ranch style homes.

House was aware of what she was doing. He had a plan of his own, but it took him a few weeks to put it into practice, so he bided his time and didn't mention the living arrangements with her.

In the meantime, they continued as they'd been before, seeing each other whenever they could, sleeping together when they wanted and sharing a lot of time with their daughter.

One day, they were getting ready to take Andra out and House was impatiently waiting for Victoria.

"Come on! At this rate, Chuck E.'s going to run out of pizza."

"Where is my ring?" Victoria asked, dismayed.

"What ring?" House asked her.

"My pink Chuck E. Cheese ring! I always wear it, but it's gone!"

"Well, if you always wear it, how can it be gone?"

"I don't wear it to bed. It makes my finger green when I do. But otherwise, I always wear it."

"It's not a big deal, Vic. It's a two dollar ring. And we're going there this afternoon anyway. I'll get you another one."

She looked dejected. "I don't want another one, I want that one!"

"You have a jewelry box full of the real stuff. Boxes from Tiffany's and Cartier's and all those other places. Why the hell are you so worried about a toy ring?"

"Because you gave it to me. Because that day was so special and the ring reminded me."

He put his arms around her. "You'll remember that day. Because we'll have lots of others as well. Don't worry."

She nodded, but she was still upset.

They took Andra to Chuck E. Cheese and of course, the little girl went to the ball pit and had her usual good time. They ate pizza and Victoria cheered up a bit.

She knew it was very silly to mourn over a toy ring. But she had never had a simple, silly little gift like that before and she wanted to keep it. She still hoped she'd locate it, but she knew it wasn't worth ruining the day she was enjoying with House and her daughter.

When they were finished with their pizza and Andra was finished playing, they headed over to the prize counter.

"Why don't I just wait outside?" Victoria said.

"Come on, I'll get you a new ring."

"I told you, I don't want a new one."

"You never know."

Andra was pointing out yet another Chuck E. Cheese doll, but Victoria convinced her to go for one of Chuck E.'s friends.

"You know, I think Chuck E. is getting lonely with just other Chuck E.'s to talk to. Why don't you get one of his friends so that he has someone different to be with?"

"Okay, Mommy!" Andra said and pointed to the duck character.

The attendant handed it to her. While they had been looking at the dolls, House had been studying the ring box.

"Look, Vic, they have another pink ring like yours."

"I told you, I don't want another one."

"But this one is really nice. Take a look." He held out a ring.

"Greg, I told you…" she began, then glanced at the ring in his hand. It was a lot shinier than her toy ring. "What's this?"

"It's a pink ring, like you had."

She peered closer at it. "No, that's not my ring. That's…a pink diamond."

Her eyes flew up to meet his. "Greg, where did this come from?"

"From the box in the case."

"No, it did not come from that box. This is a square shaped pink diamond in a gold setting with diamond chips on the side. It most assuredly did not come out of that case."

"Looks just like the ring you lost to me." He said.

"It may look like it, but it is not a plastic stone. It's a very fine pink diamond."

House pretended to examine the ring. "Oh, you're right. It is different from yours. Oh well, it was worth a shot."

He started to hand it to the attendant and she cried out, "Wait! What is going on?"

"Well, you were missing your ring. I thought you'd like another. But if you don't like it…"

"I didn't say that."

"Oh, well, if you like it, then how about this?" He took her left hand in his, slipped the ring on her finger and said, "Vic, will you marry me?"

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked into his blue ones and saw the tentative smile on his face. He was actually nervous about asking her! She was speechless for a moment.

"Oh, my, I don't…this is…oh, my!"

House looked at his daughter. "Don't you think Mommy should marry Daddy?"

"Yeah, Mommy, marry Daddy!" Andra said, laughing.

"Oh, Greg!" The tears were running down her face. "Greg House, you silly, sentimental, romantic man! Yes, I will, yes!"


	51. This Night Chapter 50

_**Chapter 50**_

_**I'm warm from the memory of days to come…**_

They were together on the chaise in her bedroom. House was against the back, she was in front of him, between his legs and his arms were around her. They wore terry cloth robes, but their bare feet were playing with each other's. They stayed there, just holding each other and talking.

"You know," she told him, "You don't have to marry me."

"You said yes. You accepted the ring. You're not getting out of it now."

"No, what I mean is, I don't want you to feel that you have to marry me. I'm not going anywhere. We'll be together. It doesn't matter if we're married or not."

"It does to me. We're getting married. And this time, you're taking my last name."

"Hmm, I guess I could hyphenate. Victoria Marsden-House."

"That's stupid. You'll sound like a rehab center for troubled teens. Is your daughter on drugs? Send her to Marsden House."

She giggled. "Do you really want me to be Victoria House?"

"Yes. Easier for you, easier for me, easier for the Android."

"Alright, I will."

He smiled and held her tighter. She leaned back against him and looked at her ring.

"How did you manage this?" she asked him.

"What?"

"The ring. How did you manage to have the ring made just like the one you got me at Chuck E. Cheese?"

"Easy. Went to the Cheese and got another ring just like it. Then brought it to a jeweler and had him recreate it for real. Stole yours this morning so that you wouldn't have it when we got there."

She was amazed. "That's so sweet! But Greg, it must have cost you a fortune. This is a very fine pink diamond. And they cost more to begin with."

He shrugged. "I have the money."

She turned her head to look at him. "Really? I didn't think you did."

"I'm a doctor and a department head. I make good money. And don't really spend much of it."

"I thought you were in debt. Or needed money for some reason."

"Why would you think that?"

"You accepted my offer to marry me for $250,000. Why would you do that if you didn't need the money?"

He lifted one side of his mouth in a half-smile. "Maybe I just wanted to be with you. And I got to live in luxury while I did. It was a win-win."

"But the plan was that we break up."

"Anything could happen."

She leaned back again and pulled his arms tighter around her. She really was lucky to have him.

"So," he began, "Do you want another wedding like the last one?"

"Lord no! I don't know how you felt, but that was the most boring wedding ever."

"I thought it was what you wanted?"

"No, that was what my family wanted. I'd never planned on getting married, so I had never thought about what I wanted."

"So now that you are—again – what do you want?"

"I'm not sure. But certainly nothing like that."

"You know, you're marrying the same guy."

"Yes, the groom is the same, but the bride is very different."

He smiled, but said, "I don't want her to be too different. I kind of love her the way she is."

She turned her head to look at him. "Even though she's a bitch?"

"Hey, don't talk about my girl like that! Anyway, I'm a jerk, so we're a good match. Heaven help our kid."

She snuggled closer to him and smiled. "Thank you. But you're not a jerk. You're wonderful. And our daughter is an angel."

"She is that. So, if you don't want a wedding like the one we already had, what do you want?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure where to start. Grace did most of the planning last time."

Sadness touched her then. "Oh, God. Grace would be so happy about this, about us. And who will be my maid of honor? She was my only friend."

"No, she's not your only friend."

"Yes, she is. I never had time to make friends with anyone else."

He tilted his head down to look at her. "What about Anita?"

"Anita? But she's my housekeeper."

"Wow, that's pretty Upstairs, Downstairs of you. I forgot, a servant can't be present at a Marsden wedding."

"No, no! That's not what I meant. I'm her employer, she doesn't…she wouldn't…I'm not her friend."

"But she's yours."

"What do you mean?"

"She's been taking care of you, physically and emotionally for a long time. If you were just her employer, she would cook your meals and clean your place and that would be it. Tell me, did she ask for a raise when Andra was born?"

"No."

"Right. You doubled her duties, but she didn't ask for more money. And she loves the kid as much as we do."

"You're right."

He shook his head. "When will you learn that I'm always right."

She chuckled. "Okay, I'm going to ask Anita to be my maid of honor."

"What about your family? What will they think of a servant doing that?"

"Fuck 'em."

"Whoa, what am I hearing?"

"I don't care what my family thinks. They don't control my life any longer. If they want to come to my wedding and be happy for me, fine. If they're going to criticize, then fuck 'em!"

"Yeah, I figured that. What just shocked me was the word. I don't think I've ever heard you say fuck in all the time I've known you. Now, you've just said it twice in the space of a few minutes."

"Well, I do it, I might as well say it."

He laughed and his arms around her got tighter. "So we've got a bride and groom, a best man and maid of honor. What else?"

"A flower girl?" she suggested.

He suddenly pictured Andra with a little basket of flowers, looking absolutely adorable.

"Yeah." He said.

"As for the rest, I don't know. We'll figure it out. Let's just enjoy being engaged."

"Okay, I can do that."

She was silent and he sensed some tension.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

"What makes you think…?"

"Stop it. I know when you're stressed. What is it?"

"What if I can't do it? What if I screw it up? What if I'm not meant to be married?"

"Will you stop! There're no guarantees and as far as relationships go, I'm the biggest screw-up there is. But I love you. And you said you love me. And we both love the Android. We've already been divorced and that didn't work so well for us. So let's do the married thing for awhile and see how that goes."

She smiled. No wonder she loved him.


	52. This Night Chapter 51

_**Chapter 51**_

_**All your choices made you change your mind…**_

Victoria was not surprised to receive a phone call from her mother. After all that had happened, she knew that her maternal parent would not miss the opportunity to chastise her daughter over her life choices. It had been that way all of her life. Victoria never chose the right companions, never played the right games, never wore the right clothes. She'd gone to the wrong college and her decision to pursue a career over a society wedding had been a disappointment as well.

Victoria had assumed that once she'd started working instead of marrying, her mother would just give up and ignore it, but that was not to be. She was still criticized on the way she did her job and her ambition to run the company.

Her marriage to Greg hadn't made her Mommy's favorite either. Even thought she'd left the details in her mother's hands, it still didn't satisfy Ruth Marsden. It was too fast, Victoria was stupid for getting pregnant, a doctor was not a good choice of a husband. The divorce hadn't fared any better. Despite Ruth;s own marital track record, Victoria was still considered a failure for not making her marriage work. She wasn't raising her daughter right - why wasn't she already enrolled in a prestigious preschool? - and let's not even talk about her name!

So when Victoria saw her mother's name on her cell phone display, she sighed. She thought about ignoring the call, but she couldn't avoid her mother forever. She had tried in the past and it had NEVER worked for long. So she sighed and answered the call.

"Hello, mother."

"Victoria." her mother said with a sigh in her voice, which always indicated she was not pleased with her daughter. And that was the way she always greeted her.

"And what have I done to displease you this time?"

"Your father called me."

"Of course."

"You cannot simply quit your job. How does it look for a Marsden to turn her back on her family?"

"First of all, why should you care what it looks like for the Marsdens? You're only a Marsden by marriage. And second, you never wanted me to work in the first place!"

"That is beside the point. You made the decision to work and you must see it through. And I am a Marsden. I have carried that name far longer in my life than I did my maiden name. Despite what I think of your father, the Marsden family is a respected one in this city and the country as well. I won't have you spoil it."

Victoria was incredulous. But she was also done with this.

"Mother, I'm sorry, but I'm finished worrying about what you or anyone else thinks. For the first time ever, I am living my life the way I want to. And that includes working outside of Marsden and it means marrying Greg again."

"Oh, Tori, I was afraid of that when your father told me you were seeing him. How can you consider that? You've already divorced him. You don't remarry your ex-husband. It makes it look as though you made a mistake."

"I did make a mistake. I'm rectifying it."

"Tori, you should think carefully before you do this."

"I have thought. I love Greg. I know you don't understand the meaning of that word, but it's the truth."

Her mother was silent for a few moments. Then, in a low voice, she said, "How can you say that to me?"

"How? Because you've never loved anyone in your life. You never loved Dad, which is the reason he had mistresses all the time. You never loved your children."

"Why would you think I don't love my children?"

"Please, Mother. All you ever did was criticize me my entire life. Nothing I ever did was right. Nothing was what YOU wanted me to do. And the same with Drew."

"Tori, I criticized you, yes, because I wanted you to be the best. I was blessed with extraordinary children. Beautiful, graceful, intelligent. When you are given those gifts, you have much more responsibility to use them wisely. If you or your brother had been mediocre, average children, it would not be necessary to push you. But you needed to be the best, because you are the best."

Victoria shook her head at her mother's convoluted logic, even though she was amazed that her mother considered her the best. Hard to believe.

Ruth continued. "And as for loving you, Tori, you're my daughter. Of course I love you."

"Mother, you've never said that to me in my entire life."

"I am not a demonstrative person, you know that. I don't feel the need to express my feelings to the world. They are mine, they are private."

"Well, children need to hear that their mother loves them. I tell Andra all the time. And I will continue to do so."

Her mother sighed. Another criticism of her child rearing skills.

Victoria ignored it and told her, "And I am marrying Greg. We are having a simple, informal ceremony and reception. You are welcome to come if you want, but only if you want to wish me happiness. If you're coming to criticize, then please stay home."

In the meantime, House had to screw up his own courage to tell his mother about the wedding. He knew he'd better not avoid it this time, but he also knew that his mother wouldn't be thrilled that he was remarrying his ex-wife. Victoria was not exactly her favorite person.

She actually took it better than he thought, although he could tell she wasn't thrilled.

"Greg, if you think this will make you happy, then I'm happy for you. But just please be sure this is the right thing. For you and for your daughter."

"Mom, she's changed. I promise you. You'll see, she's not the same person she was."

"I believe you, dear."

He wasn't sure if she did, but at least she wasn't upset with him and she agreed to come to the wedding. He told he'd let her know the details as soon as they were set.

She asked about her granddaughter and then said goodbye.

House breathed a sigh of relief that he'd done that without too much trouble.

Victoria smiled at him. "You're lucky. You could have had the conversation I had with my mother."

"It wouldn't have happened. I would have told that bitch where to go years ago."

"I know. But I finally stood up to both of them."

"How does it feel?"

"It feels great!"


	53. This Night Chapter 52

_**Chapter 52**_

_**What will it take 'til you believe in me…**_

The morning after they got engaged, they wanted to tell Anita. She came out of the kitchen with coffee for both of them and when she saw them, she knew something was up.

"What's going on?" she asked suspiciously.

Victoria smiled, then held out her hand. "We're engaged!"

Anita gaped at the ring. "Well, it's about time!" Then she looked at House. "Wow, Doc, you did good."

"Thanks." He replied.

Victoria took a deep breath before saying, "Anita, would you, I mean, do you think…"

She hesitated, unsure of herself.

"What are you trying to say?" the housekeeper asked.

"When we get married, I'd like you to be my maid of honor."

Anita just stared at her. "You really want me?"

"Yes."

"Well. This is…well."

Victoria glanced at House, uncertainty in her look. Maybe Anita wouldn't want to do it, despite what he'd said.

The older woman finally got control of her emotions and said, "Victoria, I'd be honored."

Victoria felt her own emotions start to overwhelm her.

House rolled his eyes. "Hey, the two of you better not start bawling. It's just a wedding. Everything's cool. Let it go."

The women nodded, but there were a few sniffs before they calmed down.

"So what kind of wedding is it going to be? Like the last one?"

"Lord, no! I don't know what we're doing yet, only what we're not doing."

"Well," Anita said, "First off, where would you like to have it?"

"We have no idea." Victoria said. But House looked like he wanted to say something.

"You got an idea, Doc?"

"I was kinda thinking, I'd like it to be on a terrace."

"Why a terrace?" Anita asked.

But Victoria's eyes met his and she smiled. "Yes, that would be perfect."

Anita thought for a moment. "How many people?"

"Four or five on my side, about the same for Greg." Victoria told her.

"So, about fifteen people total?" They nodded. "So, why not have it here? You've got a terrace."

They both turned immediately to look at the glass doors that led to the terrace of the penthouse. Victoria never really used it, but it was definitely there.

Anita continued. "It's big enough to hold that many people for the duration of the ceremony. Then everyone comes back in here for the reception."

"That's a wonderful idea! Greg, what do you think?"

House shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."

"That's it then. We'll have it here. And I know a lot of caterers. We just have to decide what sort of food we'd like and we can get it."

House nodded. "As long as I can sample it first, I'm good with that."

Victoria beamed. "Thank you, Anita. That will be perfect."

Anita looked at the floor for a minute, before saying, "Uh, how's the house hunting going?"

"Well, I haven't really been too lucky yet. As I told you, I want a ranch house and I was hoping for a separate apartment for you to give you some privacy."

"Yeah, well, about that. You don't really need to find a place with a room for me."

Victoria's eyes went wide and there was panic in her voice. "Are you quitting?"

"No, of course not. Where could I find a job like this? But, well, Sean's been wanting me to move in with him. I kept telling him I couldn't, but now that you guys are getting married, well, maybe this is the right time."

"But how will you…?"

"I'll come every day. But I'll leave at night. I can still stay to watch Andra on any evening you're going out."

Victoria nodded, but she wasn't happy.

House, of course, had a question. "Why weren't you going to do it before we got engaged?"

Anita shrugged. "I knew she needed me then. But now she has you, Doc. Oh, and I expect you not to screw it up."

He nodded and smiled. Anita returned to the kitchen. House turned to Victoria and saw that she was still upset.

"Why is it bothering you so much? Don't you want her to be happy with her boyfriend?"

"Of course, I do. No one deserves it more after what she went through. It's just that…I've depended on her for so long. And I know she'll still be here, but not all the time and that will be strange."

"Don't you think you can depend on me?" he asked quietly.

"It's not that, it's not the same thing. When you hire someone, you know that you can depend on him or her because if you can't, you can fire him or her and find someone you can depend on. When it's someone you love, you can't be sure that they'll always be there for you."

"I won't…" he began. "No, I won't say you can depend on me for always, because my track record hasn't been great. But I want this more than I've ever wanted anything before. And I'm gonna try my damnedest to make sure you can depend on me."

She looked at his blue eyes, deep with the emotion he was feeling.

"Okay. Then, that's what we'll do. We'll depend on each other and we'll make this work."

"Okay." He said, and pulled her into his arms to hold her.


	54. This Night Chapter 53

**Okay, folks, this is the last actual chapter, though there is an epilogue. I want to thank everyone for continuing to read this and for commenting. I know that Victoria was not an easy heroine to love, but I think most people came to understand her and maybe like her. And I hope everyone enjoyed her journey.**

_**Chapter 53**_

_**Home is just another word for you…**_

They set a date and Victoria called a caterer she knew that did interesting and unusual food. She brought House to them and he approved the selections.

Next she had to shop for a dress.

"You don't want to wear the other one?" House asked.

"Oh no, I hate that thing."

He was confused. "So why did you buy it?"

She shrugged. "It was a Vera Wang, from her current bridal collection. It was what I was expected to wear. But this time, I want to wear something I like."

She went shopping and after going from store to store, finally ended up at a store that sold vintage clothes and found the perfect dress in the back of a rack.

It was a long dress, circa 1930's. A beautiful, sheer peach chiffon fabric with ivory swirl embroidery over a soft peach colored taffeta liner. She put it on and it felt perfect. She knew this was her dress.

To coordinate with her dress, she picked out a lovely dress for Andra as well. It was tea length with a tank bodice covered in lace on top of a satin dress with a delicate lace detail at the waist and an a-line skirt. The satin base was champagne, with ivory lace overlay.

Without showing House her dress, she bought him an ivory silk shirt. She told him he could wear a suit or not, whatever he chose. In the end, he decided on just a pair of black slacks. And looked handsome of course.

Wilson wore a suit (of course) and Anita wore a nice beige dress, since Victoria did not want her to get a bridesmaid type dress. They found a beautiful Calvin Klein dress that Anita loved and Victoria insisted on paying for.

The day of the wedding started out cloudy, but the sun broke out just before the ceremony. Victoria thought that was sort of symbolic of their relationship.

Blythe was staying in the guest room and although she still wasn't sure about Victoria, she was starting to warm up to her ex slash future daughter-in-law.

The other guests on House's side were Wilson (also best man, again!) and Cuddy with Rachel. He thought about inviting his team, but decided to keep it small.

In the end, Victoria's brother came, as well as her mother. Her father stayed away, but her stepmother sent her a gift and a really nice letter wishing her happiness. Victoria was both surprised and touched.

The ceremony was brief, with a justice of the peace officiating. They stood on the terrace, with the view of the river behind them and their family and friends surrounding them.

They looked into each other's eyes and promised to love forever. This time both of them paid attention to the vows and this time they meant them.

When they were pronounced man and wife, everyone cheered. House and Victoria kissed, then pulled Andra up with them into a hug. The three of them walked together into the penthouse, their guests following.

Everyone started wishing them well, as they started talking and laughing. Then House's cell phone rang.

Victoria looked alarmed. "Oh, no, Greg, you don't have a patient! Not now."

"Don't worry," he said, "I'll figure it out."

He walked away, pulling out the phone and talking as he did. After a few seconds, he hung up, and smiling returned to the assembled guests.

"Can I have everyone's attention?"

They all stopped talking and looked at the groom.

"I wanted to give Victoria a wedding present that she would really like and never forget. It's pretty hard when she has enough money to buy the world. I knew it had to be something she couldn't buy for herself. So, this is what I came up with. I hope you like it, sweetheart."

He left the living room and went into the foyer. They could hear him open the door and muffled voices. Then House returned.

"Vic, I want to present your wedding gift from me. I had to call in a favor for this and you know how I hate to do that. But hell, you're worth it. And I figure the wedding night sex will really be worth it."

He called out to the person in the foyer. "Could you come in now?"

A man walked in. He was of average height, close-cropped dark hair mixed with grey and a short beard. He was about sixty. The guests stared, not quite sure if he was who they thought.

But Victoria knew exactly who he was and lost all ability to speak. She just stared at their visitor and swallowed, trying to find her voice.

"Vic?" House asked her. "Do you know who this is?"

She nodded, and in a whisper, said, "It's Billy Joel."

House just smiled.

The singer went to her and said, "Mrs. House -- Victoria, congratulations."

She stuttered out, "Thank you." Then turned to House. "How…"

"Don't you know I'm omnipotent?"

The guests snickered and Billy Joel smiled.

"Actually, your husband saved the life of one of my band members, who is also one of my best friends. He would have died without Dr. House. I told him if there was anything I could ever do for him."

"So I got him to play at our wedding. Who wants to do the Alley Cat?"

The singer gave House a look, then turned back to Victoria. "He told me that you were a fan and asked if I would sing a song for you. One song. I'm here for one song. But it's your choice, Victoria. What would you like me to sing?"

She was still in a bit of shock, but it was registering that Billy Joel was going to sing for her and that she could choose whatever song she wanted. She was overwhelmed trying to choose.

Then she looked at House and knew.

Staring into his blue eyes, she said in a whisper, "You're My Home."

He smiled back at her, as Billy went to the piano, sat down and began playing the song. As he sang the words of the love song, House pulled Victoria close to him and she curled her arms around his neck. They danced slowly around the living room.

When the song ended, Billy stood up and went to the newlyweds.

"Thank you, Mr. Joel." Victoria said.

"Call me Bill. And you're welcome, Victoria. I hope you two have a great marriage."

House shook hands with him. "Thanks for doing this."

"You know I can never really repay you for what you did. This was nothing. And you've got a beautiful wife and daughter. Enjoy them."

"I plan on doing just that." House said with a grin.


	55. This Night Chapter 54

_**Chapter 54**_

_**This night you're mine….**_

Epilogue

After the wedding, House and Victoria took a few days at a nice bed and breakfast near the beach. Blythe stayed at the penthouse to help Anita and to spend time with her granddaughter.

They arrived in the evening and went directly to their room. It was a lovely Victorian style room with a four poster bed. Victoria started to examine the antiques in the room, but House pulled her into his arms.

"Time for that later, Mrs. House. Right now, I need many thanks for getting your favorite singer to serenade you."

She shook her head, laughing. "I still can't believe you did that! Why didn't you ever tell me that you'd met Billy Joel?"

He shrugged. "Once my patients are cured, I don't really think about them. No more interest for me."

"Have you treated anyone else famous?"

"A jazz musician, a senator, a baseball player, a soap opera star. Some others that I really don't remember."

"Only you would treat famous people and shrug it off. You probably remember the poor patients more."

"If their cases were more interesting, then yes."

She put her arms around him. "I love you."

"Cool. Time to show me how much."

Clothes were shed fairly quickly, then he pushed her back onto the lovely bed. He wasn't concerned with the duvet, only with the woman under him. Kisses became more intense and it wasn't long before he slipped inside her and they finally, truly consummated their marriage.

After, they lay entwined in each other's arms.

"This was much better than the sex on our other wedding night," she told him.

"You're lucky you got what you did that night. A hot waitress came on to me."

She looked at him. "What? You had sex with a waitress on our wedding night?"

"That's not what I said. And why would you be upset about that now? It wasn't a real wedding. And you were having sex with your laptop at the time."

"Still…"

"I didn't have sex with her. I said she came on to me. But I turned her down and had sex with you instead."

"It was angry sex."

"I was angry."

She sighed. "I know. You had a right to be. Another example of what a bitch I was."

"Well, you're not now, so it's all good."

"Greg, we're so happy right now. So…easy with each other. Will it always be like this?"

"Probably not. You can be pretty stubborn and opinionated. We'll have fights."

"I can be stubborn? What about you?"

"I am the most easygoing, agreeable guy you could ever know."

She burst out laughing. He tried to hold a straight face, but couldn't and he laughed too, then pulled her close to him.

"Okay, it's true, between the two of us, we'll probably have some knock down, drag out fights. But just think how much fun making up will be?"

"There is that."

They fell asleep after that.

Their future would hold many changes:

They found a lovely ranch home in a nice neighborhood. Victoria was unable to sell the penthouse in the current real estate market, so she rented it out to visiting executives until the economy improved. But she never considered moving back into it. Their new home was perfect for them.

Victoria grew bored with not working. Several headhunters had contacted her about jobs, but she was reluctant to enter another high pressure position. In the end, she started her own consulting firm so that she could set her own hours.

Which came in handy two years later when they had a son. Victoria hadn't wanted to get pregnant again, but once again, nature had its own ideas. After the birth, she had her tubes tied, since late forties was too old (in her opinion – and House's too) for a woman to have more children.

Anita married Sean, but continued to work for Victoria. She was closer to the House children than she was to her own grandchildren, since she was with them more.

A few years after their marriage, Victoria's father tried to convince her to take a job with Marsden. He wanted her to run the company with her brother. But she refused. She'd walked away from that and begun something new and she wasn't about to give it up.

Victoria's determination had fueled her brother and Drew finally came out at age fifty, and entered into a civil union with a long time lover. Victoria and House helped him plan the ceremony. Their mother attended. Their father did not.

And despite all the changes, some things remained the same:

They loved Andra and their son unconditionally and were not afraid to let them know. Victoria and House both made sure they made time to spend with their children and despite the usual disagreements that families have, they stayed a close family unit.

Most of all they loved each other, despite many fights over the years. But they always found a way through them and making up was always great.

But as they lay there sleeping on their (real) wedding night, their only thoughts were how much they loved each other at that moment and the hope that they always would.

_**This night will last forever.**_

**_Thanks so much to everyone who read this story. It was an interesting ride for me too. I love all of you for reading and reviewing. Hopefully you'll enjoy my next work. See you soon!_**


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